China has started creating its own satellite Internet network similar to the global Starlink system from SpaceX.
On November 23, the Changzheng-2D rocket with the YZ-1S upper stage took off from the Xichang Cosmodrome in southwest China. One experimental Internet satellite is declared as a load.
It should be noted that China is completing the implementation of the global satellite Internet project "Govan" (Guowang), which provides for the deployment of 13 thousand communication satellites in low Earth orbit (for comparison, SpaceX has launched about 5 thousand satellites of the Starlink network and requested permission to place up to 40 thousand satellites there.
According to expectations, the Chinese Guowang network will provide communication services, including 5G, Internet of Things connections, etc., not only to the country, but also to the whole world.
The project began to develop the aerospace conglomerate Kasich. In August 2017, he announced plans to create a grouping of 156 satellites with the capacity of individual devices up to 10 Gbit/s. But later the project was transferred to a new company, China Satellite Network Group, which will become the operator of this future satellite Internet grouping.
The Chinese Academy of Space Technology (CAST) and the Innovative Academy of Microsatellites (IAMCAS) are engaged in the production of satellites for the Guowang constellation.
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