The space is about to be more crowded for Elon Musk.
Billionaire StarLink Communications Network faces increasingly tough challenges for controlling the high-speed satellite internet, including Chinese state-backed rivals and another service funded by Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos .
Shanghai-based Spacesail has signed a contract to enter Brazil in November and announced meetings with more than 30 countries.
Two months later, the work began in Kazakhstan, according to the Kazafe Embassy in Beijing.
Separately, Brasilia is in discussions with Bezos' project Kuiper Internet Service and Canada's Telesat, according to a Brazilian official who spoke on condition of anonymity to freely discuss the ongoing consultations. News of these discussions have been reported for the first time.
Since 2020, Starlink has launched more satellites in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) (altitudes below 1,242 miles) than all competitors combined. Satellites operating at such low altitudes transmit data very efficiently and provide high-speed internet for remote communities, sailors and troops during the war.
The advantage of masks in space is considered a threat to Beijing. Beijing believes heavily invested in military research into tools to track satellite constellations.
China launched 263 Leo satellites last year, according to data analyzed by astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell's tech consulting Analysys Mason.
The emergence of competition with Starlink is being welcomed by the Brazilian government. The Brazilian government wants high-speed internet for communities in remote areas, but has previously faced Musk over commercial and politics.
Spacesail declined to comment when it presented questions about Reuters' expansion plans. A newspaper managed by China's telecommunications regulator last year praised the country as “crossing borders, infiltrating sovereignty and providing unconditional coverage of the whole world.
The Ministry of Communications, Kuiper, Telesat, Starlink and Brazil, did not respond to requests for comment.
Most of Musk's international rivals have the same ambitions as Space Isle, which is controlled by the Shanghai Municipal Government.
This year, we announced plans to deploy 648 LEO satellites. By 2030, there will be a maximum of 15,000 people. According to McDowell, Starlink currently has around 7,000 satellites, setting a target of operating 42,000 by the end of the decade.
The launch of Spacesail will ultimately constitute Qianfan, or “thousand sale,” the constellations that ultimately push China's first international push into satellite broadband. Three other Chinese constellations are also under development. Beijing plans to launch 43,000 LEO satellites in the coming decades and invest in rockets that can carry multiple satellites.
“Endgame is to occupy as many orbital slots as possible,” said Chaitanya Giri, space technology expert at the Observer Research Foundation in India.
The Rush, which takes up more Earth's orbit in China, has sparked concern among Western policymakers who are worried that it could expand the scope of Beijing's internet censorship regime.
Researchers at the US Foreign Policy Council think tank said in a paper in February that Washington should increase cooperation with the global tropical countries if they “want to seriously challenge China's growth advance into digital domination.” He said.
The researchers also described Qianfan as an important part of the space component of China's belt and road initiative.
The $1 trillion global infrastructure development plan, a signature policy by Chinese leader Xi Jinping, has been criticized by critics as a tool to expand Beijing's geopolitical impact.
China's Commerce Ministry and Telecom regulators did not respond to requests for comment. China's Foreign Ministry responded to Reuters' questions and did not recognize details of the surrounding Space Isle and China's Leo satellite, which are expanding overseas, but Beijing has with other countries for the benefit of its people. He said he is pursuing space cooperation.
Spacesail says it aims to provide trustworthy internet to more users, especially those in remote locations and during recovery from emergencies and natural disasters.
Wild West
The rapid expansion of Starlink and its use in wars in Ukraine has attracted the attention of military researchers such as China's National University of Defense Technology, spurring critical national funding for rival satellite networks.
Hongqing Technology, which was founded in 2017 and develops 10,000 satellite constellations, raised 340 million yuan this month from investors primarily affiliated with the nation.
Last year, Spacesail secured $930 million in a funding round led by a state-run investment fund focused on upgrading China's manufacturing capacity.
Chinese researchers, including many people in the People's Liberation Army, have also turned their attention to this field. China rose in 2023 a record 2,449 patents related to LEO satellite technology from 162 in 2019, according to Anaqua's Aprimip Database.
According to a Reuters review, many focus on cost-effective satellite networks and low-latency communication systems, highlighting China's push to bridge the technology gap.
“The universe is doing fast and busy experiments,” said Antoine Grenier, global head of consulting at Anasys Mason.
“Pioners enjoy this relative freedom and shape it to assert important positions before the rules get stricter — like Wild West.”
Some of the Chinese studies appear to be targeting Starlink. This describes one PLA-link patent application that describes US systems as important for reconnaissance and military communication, raising “threats to networks, data, and military security.”
Beijing is also developing tools to track and monitor Starlink constellations. Researchers from the labs belonging to the two PLAs said they designed a system and algorithm for tracking megaconstells like Starlink in a study published in a Chinese engineering journal in January. .
“As the growing trend in space militarization, the development of tools to monitor and track these large stages is extremely important,” the researchers wrote.
