China Launches 23,000 Satellites for War Essentials

China has revealed plans to launch a staggering 26,000 low-earth orbit satellites by 2030, aiming to become a space superpower on par with the United States. This comes as satellite-based communication systems have emerged as an essential military technology in the wake of the Russia-Ukraine war and the Gaza conflict. The government plans to build its own satellite network.

In 2020, the Chinese government announced plans to launch approximately 13,000 satellites to build a high-speed internet network and founded the state-owned China Satellite Network Group (CSNG) the following year. According to a report by the Nihon Keizai Shimbun, CSNG plans to launch 1,300 satellites, equivalent to 10% of the planned number, from the first half of 2024 until 2029. This will pave the way for a high-speed 6th-generation (6G) communication support network by 2035. Not only CSNG but also Shanghai government-owned Shanghai Guosheng Group plans to launch 12,000 low-earth orbit satellites, and private company Galaxy Space Technology also plans to send 1,000 satellites into space.

China’s move to launch satellites is not unrelated to the dominance shown by Elon Musk’s American space company SpaceX’s low-earth orbit satellite communication network, “Starlink,” in recent wars. When Ukraine’s internet network was cut off due to Russia’s attacks, SpaceX provided high-speed internet through Starlink, allowing the battle to continue without a ground base station. In the Gaza Strip, SpaceX offered to support the communications of international aid organizations when the communications were cut off due to conflict, but this was thwarted by Israel citing the potential for Hamas to exploit it for terrorism.

As low-earth orbit satellite communication technology begins to determine the outcome of wars, Chinese President Xi Jinping has designated space businesses including commercial satellite launches as national strategic emerging businesses and is providing full support. The management of CSNG, which seems to prove its military purpose, is composed of personnel from the China Electronics Corporation (CEC), which is responsible for military information technology, and the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC). China has already completed its own satellite navigation system, BeiDou (BDS), in December 2018 and started global satellite services. The Chinese government has ordered domestic companies to use BDS instead of the Global Positioning System (GPS) developed by the U.S. Department of Defense, citing security reasons. Over 100 countries in Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe, and Africa that have close ties with China are using BDS instead of GPS.

There is a sense of concern in the United States and Europe over China’s acceleration of its own low-earth orbit satellite development. In September last year, when the Chinese company Shanghai Aerospace Communication Satellite Technology tried to acquire the German satellite startup Kleo Connect, the German government denied it. Boeing in the United States also planned to sell satellites to a domestic startup, but when it was revealed that a company receiving support from the Chinese government had invested in the startup, the contract was canceled.