Qianfan (Chinese:千帆星座;pinyin:Qiānfān xīngzuò;lit. 'Thousand Sails Constellation'),[1] officially known as theSpacesail Constellation^[2] and also referred to asG60 Starlink,^[3] is a plannedChineselow-Earth orbitsatellite internet megaconstellation to create a system of worldwideinternet coverage. It was created by Shanghai Spacecom Satellite Technology (SSST), a firm backed by theShanghai Municipal People's Government and theChinese Academy of Sciences.^[4] The project was started in 2024 as a rival to theStarlink satellite constellation installed bySpaceX, and plans to be constituted of over 15,000 satellites by the project's end.^[5][6]

The "Thousand Sails" program began with the creation of the "Shanghai Action Plan to Promote Commercial Aerospace Development and Create a Space Information Industry Highland (2023-2025)" program first announced on 20 November.^[7] The government of Shanghai raised 6.7 billionChinese Yuan ($943 million) in funds for the construction of the project, which was initially dubbed the G60 Starlink.^[4]

The first flat panel satellite for the megaconstellation was assembled in December 2023. The satellite's facilities were allocated to the state owned Shanghai Gesi Aerospace Technology (Genesat).^[8]

On 6 August 2024 at 06:42 UTC, China launched its first set of eighteen flat panel satellites associated with the project using theLong March 6Alaunch vehicle, China's 35th orbital launch in the year 2024. The rocket launched from theTaiyuan Launch Complex located in the north ofShanxi Province, and brought the satellites into apolar orbit. TheChinese Academy of Sciences and theChina Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation both reported that the space mission was "a complete success".^[5][6] However, theUnited States Space Command reported that soon after the delivery of 18 satellites, the upper stage ofLong March 6A broke apart and created a cloud of debris of “over 300 pieces of trackable debris in low-Earth orbit”.^[9][10]

On 15 October 2024 at 11:06 UTC, aLong March 6A rocket launched the second group of eighteen Qianfan satellites into a polar orbit.^[11]

On 5 December 2024 at 04:41 UTC, a third group of eighteen Qianfan satellites were launched into a polar orbit by aLong March 6A rocket.^[12]

Based onChinese state mediaChina Central Television coverage, China has planned to launch and establish 648 satellites by the end of 2025 as part of the 1,296 satellites in the first phase of construction of the constellation, with the finished broadband multimedia satellite megaconstellation consisting of over 15,000 internet satellites.^[5] Of these, 108 satellites were planned to be deployed in 2024 in separate launches of 36 and 54 internet satellites each, and would operate in "Ku, Q and V" bands.^[8]

The system also planned to annex finite frequencies andorbital slots, and also providedata security.^[6]

Qianfan satellites are bright, and theirlight pollution poses a threat toobservational astronomy. At their current luminosity the spacecraft will leave streaks in photographic research images that cannot be removed by software. They would also interfere with aesthetic appreciation of the night sky because they are visible to the unaided eye. Other spacecraft operators have mitigated the brightness of the satellites to reduce their impact on astronomy.^[15] This is a known problem withsatellite constellations, which can be partly mitigated.^[16]

• Starlink
• Chang'e 6
• Shensuo
• SVOM
• Queqiao 2

• Space program of China
• 2024 in spaceflight
• 2024 in China
• 2024 in Shanghai
• Communications satellite constellations
• Communications satellites in low Earth orbit
• Communications satellites of China
• Internet service providers
• Satellite Internet access
• Spacecraft launched in 2024
• Wireless networking
• Space technology

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• Articles containing traditional Chinese-language text