China's first privately designed LEO (low Earth orbit) communications satellite, named Jiading-1 or OKW-01, is set to launch in November this year.
The satellite was developed by Shanghai Ok Space Co Ltd, the first domestic commercial space company, which is located in Shanghai's Jiading district. More than 30 invention patents have been applied for the construction of the satellite.
The Jiading-1 satellite is the first to be constructed for the Xiangyun Satellite Constellation. It is expected that the satellite will be launched in order to carry out some technical tests for the constellation project.
"The satellite will be launched in order to do some technical verification for the Xiangyun Satellite Constellation," said Ma Lu, CEO of the company.
Construction of the Xiangyun Satellite Constellation, a LEO satellite constellation and the first of its kind in China, is expected to be completed in 2020.
It is hoped that through increased ground coverage, the constellation will be able to lower costs and speedup operations in a number of fields, such as petroleum, coal, power transmission, and shipping.
China's first privately designed LEO communications satellite named Jiading-1 or OKW-01 is set to launch in November this year. [Photo/WeChat account: sh-jiading] |
The blueprint of the Xiangyun Satellite Constellation. [Photo/WeChat account: sh-jiading] |