HELSINKI — A Chinese launch to deploy a first batch of communications satellites has created more than 50 pieces of debris which could threaten spacecraft in low Earth orbit.
The Long March 6A launched Aug. 6, from a specifically constructed launch pad at Taiyuan spaceport. The rocket’s upper stage, modified for restarts and deploying numerous satellites, deployed 18 flat panel Qianfan (“Thousand Sails”), or G60, satellites into roughly 800-kilometer-altitude polar orbit for Shanghai Spacecom Satellite Technology (SSST).
The satellites are the first of a planned megaconstellation of more than 14,000 low Earth orbit (LEO) communications satellites. However the mission appears to have created a string of debris along its orbital path, according to observations from Slingshot Aerospace, a space-tracking and data analytics firm.
“Composite images from Slingshot’s LEO-focused Horus optical fences show a series of bright, unexpected objects moving along the same orbital path as the rocket body and the G60 satellites it deployed,” Slingshot Aerospace noted in a statement.
The event has more than 50 pieces of debris that now pose a risk to LEO constellations below 800 km altitude, according to the firm.
“These uncued detections have allowed Slingshot to execute additional tasking on these objects to gather more detailed information that will support subsequent tracking and object characterization.”
U.S. Space Forces – Space (S4S) tracking confirmed the breakup of the Long March 6A rocket stage. “The breakup likely occurred Aug. 7, at 1548 UTC. The tracked pieces are being incorporated into routine conjunction assessment to support spaceflight safety. There are currently no threats to human spaceflight. Analysis is ongoing,” the statement read.
Space debris at such altitudes, where there is very little atmospheric drag, can remain in orbit for decades or longer, depending on the size and density of the debris and other variables. Any impact with spacecraft could cause serious damage and create further debris, with the debris likely traveling at around 7.5 kilometers per second, or 27,000 km per hour.
The debris incident is the latest of several events affecting the upper stage of the Long March 6A. An early July saw numerous pieces of debris created, detected by Swiss firm S2a systems and reported by SpaceNews.
The state-owned Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology (SAST) which designed and produces the rocket has yet to respond to a request for comment on the earlier incident.
A Long March 6A upper stage breakup event in November 2022 meanwhile created hundreds of pieces of debris.
Megaconstellation concerns
SSST plans to launch a further 90 satellites this year, according to earlier statements. Documentation filed with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) sets out plans for a first phase using 36 polar orbital planes, each filled with 36 satellites, totaling 1,296 spacecraft. The overall plan is for more than 14,000 satellites. It is unknown what launchers the satellites will fly on. The potential frequent use of the Long March 6A, however, raises concerns.
“If even a fraction of the launches required to field this Chinese megaconstellation generate as much debris as this first launch, the result would be an untenable addition to the space debris population in LEO,” Audrey Schaffer, Vice President of Strategy and Policy, said in a statement to SpaceNews.
“Events like this highlight the importance of adherence to existing space debris mitigation guidelines to reduce the creation of new space debris and underscore the need for robust space domain awareness capabilities to rapidly detect, track, and catalog newly-launched space objects so they can be screened for potential conjunctions.”
SSST’s G60 or Thousand Sails is just one of the megaconstellations planned by China in response to Starlink. Launches for the national Guowang (“national net”) 13,000-satellite project are also expected in the future.
Shanghai-based SSST is understood to be the Chinese side of the former Sino-German KLEO Connect constellation project. That Chinese-European joint venture ended in acrimony and ongoing lawsuits. Meanwhile, U.S. technology firm Rivada is planning to use the frequencies previously allocated to KLEO Connect for its own constellation.
Shanghai is executing its own commercial space action plan, of which Thousand Sails is just one aspect. Hosting firms focused on new generation, reusable medium and large launch vehicles is also part of the initiative. Added launch capacity from commercial reusable launch vehicles will be necessary for China to be able to build its planned megaconstellations.
China currently has more than 800 satellites in orbit, according to China National Space Administration officials. China’s state-owned main space contractor and parent company of SAST aims to launch more than 290 spacecraft on around 70 launches this year. Launches by commercial launch firms will add to those figures.
