Open-sea testing of China's first low-Earth orbit (LEO) broadband communication test constellation was conducted in the South China Sea.

Researchers from the GalaxySpace, a Beijing-based satellite maker, and several scientific research institutions conducted open-sea testing of the country's first LEO broadband communication test constellation in the South China Sea.

The testing aims to verify the collaborative communication coverage ability of high-Earth orbit and LEO satellites and unmanned aerial vehicles.

In March 2022, six satellites produced by GalaxySpace were sent into space from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center, together with the first broadband communication satellite developed by GalaxySpace and deployed in low-Earth orbit, forming China's first LEO broadband communication test constellation.

China's first LEO broadband communication test constellation

One remote sensing satellite and six LEO broadband communication satellites that formed the first pilot version of a satellite internet constellation were sent into orbit atop a Long March-2C carrier rocket at 2:01 p.m. local time on March 5, 2023, from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China's Sichuan Province.

The LEO broadband communication satellites, each weighing 190 kilograms, were mass-produced by China's private satellite developer GalaxySpace. These satellites will be part of a testing network of satellite internet, nicknamed "Mini-spider Constellation," the company said.

Together with the company's first satellite of its kind put into orbit two years ago, the seven satellites build a testing network to provide uninterrupted low-orbit satellite broadband communication services for more than 30 minutes at a time, becoming a major experimenting platform for China's satellite internet constructions.

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China launches satellites to test first low-orbit internet constellation

(With input from Xinhua)