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Hard on the heels of recent headlines made by China’s plans to launch a rival to the Starlink service has comes news of an incident that certainly wasn’t part of those plans.
According to the UK’s PC Mag, quoting US Space Command, the rocket carrying satellites for China’s own version of the Starlink satellite constellation and internet service has accidentally broken apart in space, creating a debris field in Earth’s orbit.
The rocket, Long March 6A, took off on Tuesday, carrying the first 18 satellites for China’s Qianfan Thousand Sails satellite constellation, and the satellites were successfully deployed. However, the upper stage to the rocket appears to have split into numerous fragments.
US Space Command, a unified combatant command of the United States Department of Defense, responsible for military operations in outer space, suggests that the incident has resulted in over 300 pieces of trackable debris in low-Earth orbit, but according to other sources this total could be much greater.
On its X account, satellite monitoring company LeoLabs says: “We’re actively monitoring and analysing the breakup event in #LEO involving a Chinese rocket body, CZ-6A. Our radar data indicates this event occurred on 6 August at ~20:10 UTC at ~810 km. It resulted in at least 700 debris fragments and potentially more than 900.”
PC Mag explains that the danger is that the debris is orbiting the Earth at around 800 kilometres, and could eventually descend to where both Starlink satellites and the International Space Station reside at 550 kilometres and 400 kilometres, respectively. It suggests that the same debris field might also endanger China’s own Qianfan satellites.
Starlink’s X account says its team is monitoring the debris and that it does not pose a significant immediate risk to the Starlink constellation. The company adds that it has designed its Starlink satellites with thrusters capable of manoeuvring them away from space junk. However, it suggests that the junk is likely to remain in space for decades due to the incident occurring at a high altitude.
In the meantime, the incident is apparently creating worries that China’s pursuit of Starlink could result in more accidents that lead to more debris fields. On the upside, reporting of this incident is at least raising awareness of potential problems relating to space debris and the need to be transparent about them.
That said, the Chinese launch provider, China Great Wall Industry Corporation, so far hasn’t commented on the debris field or what might have caused the Long March 6A rocket to break apart.
This Industry Viewpoint was authored by Emily Dula of Bridge Cable
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A few international next-generation tech upgrades in the infrastructure world to catch up with: … [visit site to read more]
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Grameen Telecom founder Muhammad Yunus has been named chief adviser of Bangladesh’s interim government following the resignation and flight of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Hasina fled Bangladesh on Monday following weeks of protests by student groups. The protests were initially organised in opposition to a government jobs quota system that allegedly favoured Hasina’s Awami League party. The focus shifted towards removing Hasina from office after her government organised a violent crackdown which resulted in around 300 protesters losing their lives.
Reuters reports that Yunus, who also founded microfinance group Grameen Bank, was appointed on Tuesday 6th August by Bangladesh President Mohammed Shahabuddin following meetings with student leaders and military chiefs.
Yunus is best known as the founder of microcredit lender Grameen Bank, which provides small loans of under $100 to Bangladesh’s low-income workers, particularly in rural areas. Yunus won the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize for his work with Grameen Bank. In the telecoms sector, he is known for establishing Grameen Telecom, a non-profit that delivers rural telephony services but is also a stakeholder in Grameenphone, Bangladesh’s largest mobile operator.
The leaders of the student protests requested Yunus, 84, as the chief advisor for the interim government. Yunus has expressed support for the protests and a dissatisfaction with the Hasina administration, and his spokesperson confirmed that he has agreed to the appointment.
Shahabuddin dissolved parliament on Tuesday in line with demands from student protest groups to allow the interim government to assume power ahead of new elections. His office has confirmed that Begum Khaleda Zia, former Bangladeshi Prime Minister and current leader of the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party, has been freed from house arrest.
In June, Yunus was indicted by a Bangladesh court on charges of embezzlement of around US$2 million from Grameen Telecom’s worker’s fund. Yunus has denied any wrongdoing; he is a well-known critic of Hasina and his supporters claim that the charges are politically motivated. In an interview with Reuters, Yunus described the allegations as “very flimsy, made-up stories », adding that Bangladesh had become a “one-party” state under Hasina. It is currently unclear whether the indictment has been dropped.
News reports from China indicate that a Chinese state-owned enterprise has this week launched the first batch of satellites in a major new constellation.
Reuters say the launch marks an important step in Beijing’s strategic goal of creating its own version of Starlink, the commercial broadband constellation that has launched close to 6,000 satellites via spacecraft manufacturer, launch service provider and satellite communications company SpaceX.
SpaceX started launching satellites for its constellation and internet service Starlink in 2019. The Starlink service is available in over 100 countries with a target user base of consumers, companies and government agencies, mainly in remote areas.
The Chinese launch, led by Shanghai Spacecom Satellite Technology (SSST), took place at Taiyuan Satellite Launch Centre, one of China’s main satellite and missile launch centres, located in the northern province of Shanxi, according to the China Securities Journal.
The eventual plan is to deploy more than 15,000 low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites. It’s a big number but many more of these are required than the higher-altitude geostationary (GEO) satellites to guarantee comprehensive coverage.
However, as Starlink has already demonstrated, they can be mass produced and, as they operate at altitudes of 300 kilometres to 2,000 kilometres, they have fewer issues with latency and offer higher throughput than GEO satellites.
However, China’s project is not just a commercial venture. The country is apparently worried about the use of Starlink in military contexts (such as its deployment in the war in Ukraine). As Reuters notes, the competition to occupy Earth’s lower orbits has military implications, with the potential to affect the balance of power between warring countries.
It says SSST’s plan is to launch 108 satellites this year, 648 satellites by the end of 2025, provide a « global network coverage » by 2027, and reach 15,000 satellites deployed before 2030.
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