China's first low-orbit broadband satellite with a communication capacity of 10 gigabytes per second was sent into space at 11:02 am Beijing Time Thursday from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, located in northern China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.
The satellite has a communication capacity of 10 gigabytes per second. /CGTN Photo
The satellite, made by commercial aerospace company GalaxySpace, was launched via the KZ-1A carrier rocket.
This kind of low-orbit broadband communication satellite can help provide stable and fast signals in remote areas like deserts or the ocean, or inside a bullet train or airplane, where connectivity is difficult.
GalaxySpace aims to build a low-Earth orbit (LEO) broadband satellite constellation and create a global 5G communication network.
KZ-1A is a low-cost solid-fuel carrier rocket with high reliability and a short preparation period. The rocket, developed by a company under the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation, is mainly used to launch LEO small satellites.
Thursday's launch is the eighth mission of the KZ-1A carrier rocket.
(With input from Xinhua)