Photo: Rocket Kuaizhou-1A sent the satellite JL-1 and two CubeSats XY-S1 and Caton-1 to space on 9th January 2017
The Fourth Academy of China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC) has planned to build a space-based Internet services for Internet of Things (IoT) by using 80 low orbit satellites.
Zhang Di, deputy director of the academy and also president of Xingyun, the subsidiary company tasked to implement this project, said that the cellular mobile communication technology in used today is unable to provide Internet service across more than 80% of the land and 95% of the ocean. CASIC’s new space-based Internet service for IoT will turn a new chapter in communication to enable easy connection everywhere, including on sea, islands or in the desert.
Xingyun will be dedicated to the researching, producing and launching of the required low orbit satellites, to form an interconnected network to serve the space-based Internet services, according to Zhang.
Xingyun already sent its first experimental satellite into low earth orbit aboard a Kuaizhou 1 rocket in January 2017. The company plans to send a total of 80 satellites into the space in three stages to complete the whole system. The planned space-based Internet services will benefit the countries along the One Belt One Road initiative.
Xingyun is running in parallel with CASIC’s Hongyun project, which deploys another 156 mini-satellites for global broadband coverage.
