First batch of satellites for new-generation space IoT launched

China has successfully launched the first two communication satellites for its new space-based Internet-of-Things (IoT) project into designated orbit on Tuesday, with the first one named after its birthplace Wuhan, a city hit hard by the COVID-19, according to China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC), the developer.

The two satellites were launched by the country’s Kuaizhou-1A commercial carrier rocket, which was also developed by the Wuhan-based Sanjiang Group under the CASIC, on Tuesday from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Northwest China’s Gansu Province.

The completion of the mission marks the beginning of China’s new-generation space-borne IoT project, code-named the “Xingyun Engineering” project.

“Xingyun” is developed by CASIC with a network of 80 low-orbit communication satellites,

The satellites will be used to test applications in multiple fields, such as intelligent container monitoring and marine transport communication, and lay a foundation for the following spacebased IoT network.

CASIC told the Global Times on Tuesday that the construction of an 80-satellite network will be completed by around 2023, and will provide a solution to current “communication blind spots.”

The Kuaizhou-1A carrier rocket that participated in the launch mission is mainly used to launch 300-kilogram level satellites into lower orbits, and the solid propellant rocket model has successfully conducted eight launch missions.

The Wuhan-based Sanjiang Group has named the Xingyun-2 01 satellite after Wuhan, in order to promote and celebrate the city’s orderly resumption of work and production in the wake of a successful curbing of the epidemic.

The rocket body has been painted with slogans that read “Heroic Wuhan, Great China” and “Tribute to the medical workers,” to honor the city, its people and all medical professionals who fought together in solidarity claiming victory in the epidemic battle.