One of China’s largest space and satellite companies, the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), has announced plans to build a 300-satellite mobile telephone communications network providing coverage for Chinese mobile telephone users, according to Chinese press reports.
The satellite communications mega-constellation, called Project Hongyan, will be built with the help of a recently established small satellite manufacturing facility at the Kasetsart University in Thailand, a country that is rapidly becoming a space and satellite powerhouse in Southeast Asia.
Project Hongyan will consist of more than 300 satellites in low-Earth orbit (LEO), terrestrial data processing centres, and various other supporting ground infrastructure located around the globe.
The mega-constellation is intended to provide mobile telephone coverage around the world for Chinese mobile users. Foreign mobile telephone and telecommunications companies are not permitted to operate in China, and with more and more Chinese nationals regularly traveling abroad for business and leisure, and China’s rapidly expanding geoeconomic presence globally, providing global coverage for these users has become a commercial and strategic imperative.
At the time of reporting no details about the size and capabilities of the Project Hongyan satellites is not known, but CASC has announced that it intends to have 60 of the 300 satellites in orbit by 2020.
