China aims to challenge Elon Musk’s Starlink with 200,000+ satellites in low Earth orbit. Photos: X.
China is planning to launch more than 200,000 internet satellites to expand its footprint in low Earth orbit in a bid to challenge Elon Musk’s Starlink. Several companies have submitted multiple applications to the United Nations’ International Telecommunication Union (ITU) as Beijing criticizes Musk’s SpaceX for crowding shared orbital resources.
The largest filings come from the newly established Institute of Radio Spectrum Utilisation and Technological Innovation, which submitted proposals for 96,714 satellites each under the CTC-1 and CTC-2 projects.
The institute, based in Xiongan New Area, Hebei province, was registered on December 30, a day after it made the ITU filings, according to the Radio Association of China.
The organization was jointly established by seven Chinese entities and is intended to serve as a hub for satellite development and spectrum management.
SpaceX, which aims to deploy 42,000 satellites, has faced scrutiny from Beijing, which last month said Starlink had created security challenges and crowded orbital resources, raising collision risks.
In December, one Starlink satellite experienced an anomaly and began an unplanned descent. SpaceX satellites are designed with a five-year lifespan and are intentionally burned up in Earth’s atmosphere after that period.
Earlier this month, SpaceX announced plans to lower the altitude of around 4,400 satellites from 550 km (342 miles) to 480 km to reduce collision risks.
Low Earth orbit, typically 400 km to 2,000 km above Earth, is becoming increasingly crowded as multiple countries and private companies compete for finite radio frequencies and orbital slots.
Under ITU regulations established in 2019, satellite systems must begin operations—or launch at least one satellite—within seven years of filing. Deployment milestones include:
10% of constellation within two years
50% within five years
100% within seven years
The ITU notes, “If a milestone is not met, it does not mean that all frequencies and orbits associated with the system are lost, but that the filing needs to be reduced to reflect the revised deployment targets.”
Zubair Amin is a Senior Journalist at NewsX with over seven years of experience in reporting and editorial work. He has written for leading national and international publications, including Foreign Policy Magazine, Al Jazeera, The Economic Times, The Indian Express, The Wire, Article 14, Mongabay, News9, among others. His primary focus is on international affairs, with a strong interest in US politics and policy. He also writes on West Asia, Indian polity, and constitutional issues. Zubair tweets at zubaiyr.amin
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