As you know, Starlink may have beaten everyone to the punch but there are competitors in the low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellite game. Today, the second biggest player is Eutelsat with its OneWeb-branded service. The Chinese faced delays but are finally getting satellites up into space.
- Remember, Starlink’s road to serving Zimbabwe is still fraught with hurdles even if their map indicates they are targeting a Q3 2024 launch in the country.
- The road is less bumpy for OneWeb who have secured partnerships with the two biggest Internet Access Providers in the country – Liquid and TelOne.
- The Chinese are good friends of Zimbabwe and if their service were ready, I don’t see many hurdles in its way.
Also note, as of July 2024, Starlink had 6111 satellites in orbit, whilst OneWeb had 628. OneWeb’s orbit is at a higher altitude and so they need fewer satellites to cover the globe than Starlink does. That has its drawbacks though.
China’s Thousand Sails takes…sail
On the 6th of August 2024, China took its first steps to bring the fight to Elon Musk and Starlink.
China launched its first batch of satellites for a mega-constellation like the ones Starlink and OneWeb have. The initial group of 18 satellites was launched from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center using a Long March 6A rocket. We’ll talk about that rocket later.
The launch was part of the Qianfan ‘Thousand Sails’ Constellation, also known as the G60 Starlink Plan, developed by Shanghai Spacecom Satellite Technology.
Do note, ‘G60 Starlink’ is not an official name and neither is Starlink just another name for LEO satellites. Rather G60 Starlink is probably meant to associate this service with the well-known American service, it’s like calling Winky D the Vybz Kartel of Zimbabwe. It’s so you know what it does.
China aims to deploy over 15,000 LEO satellites by 2030, providing global internet coverage. The first 18 were successfully launched this Tuesday and they plan to get that number up to 108 by the end of 2024. That number should get to 648 by the end of 2025.
The rocket breaks apart in space
The 18 satellites were successfully deployed but the upper stage to the Long March 6A rocket split into fragments.
Satellite monitoring company LeoLabs estimates that it broke into at least 700 fragments, potentially 900. So that’s at least 700 pieces of debris in low-Earth orbit.
So what? – you ask. The debris, orbiting at 800 kilometers, poses a threat as it could potentially fall into lower orbits, impacting Starlink’s satellites at 550km and the International Space Station at 400km.
I know what you’re thinking: Did the Chinese plan this out to kill two birds with one stone? Did they manage to launch their own satellites while setting up the destruction of a rival’s constellation and even its parent country’s space station?
That would make for a good movie but unfortunately, there is no evidence or even suspicion that that’s the case.
The debris might actually endanger China’s own constellation, for one. You might say, “Well, maybe they sacrificed 18 satellites to threaten Starlink’s 6111 and the American space station. That would be worth it.”
To which I say, listen, neither the American Department of Defence (Space Command) nor Starlink suspect foul play, publicly at least, so let’s leave it at that.
Those two American entities go on to say the debris field doesn’t pose an immediate threat. However, even if (when) the debris falls to the level at which Starlink satellites orbit, that won’t signify absolute danger.
Starlink satellites have thrusters capable of maneuvering them away from space junk. There is a reported incident of them dodging debris from a 2021 Russian anti-satellite missile test.
It appears all satellites should be able to do this because they estimate the debris will be up there for decades.
Let the Chinese come
Sometimes I believe I have blinders on because when I want something to happen so bad, I tend to ignore the downsides. I badly want affordable internet for Zimbabweans that I’m willing to downplay any downsides to how we get that.
I say that to say, I want Chinese satellite internet in Zimbabwe to compete with mobile network operators, internet access providers and other LEO satellite players.
Are there concerns as to what a Chinese-controlled internet will look like? Of course. They wouldn’t dare put up the Chinese firewall if they were to be an internet service provider across the globe, right?
Maybe not that but we would have to kiss whatever little figment of privacy we think we have goodbye with the Chinese in charge.
The world over, especially in the West, the concerns over a Chinese-controlled LEO constellation primarily revolve around issues of national security, data privacy, space debris and global competition.
Privacy and debris are done deals already.
Let them care, all I see is another potential competitor who could help drive internet access prices down in Zimbabwe. So, let the Chinese come, space debris and all.
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What’s your take?