Communications
QIANFAN-16
Chinese Commercial LEO Broadband Constellation (Qianfan / Thousand Sails) · Shanghai Spacecom Satellite Technology (SSST)
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Qianfan-16 ('Thousand Sails'), also known as SpaceSail or G60 Starlink, one of China's most ambitious answers yet to SpaceX's broadband dominance — a Shanghai-backed constellation explicitly modeled on Starlink's mass-production playbook. This satellite is part of Phase 1's push toward 648 satellites for regional coverage by the end of 2025 — a target the program has repeatedly missed, having launched barely 90 satellites by mid-2025 against a plan that would have needed over 30 launches a month to stay on schedule.
Its orbit
- Orbit
- Low Earth Orbitcan appear as a fast-moving star at dawn or dusk
- Altitude
- 659–674 mi (1,060–1,085 km)
- Inclination
- 89.0°
- One orbit
- 106.5 minutes13.5 orbits a day
- NORAD ID
- 60394
- Int’l designator
- 2024-140R
- Launched
- 2024
Orbital elements from CelesTrak, as of 22 Sep 2026.
More communications
- QIANFAN-17Chinese Commercial LEO Broadband Constellation (Qianfan / Thousand Sails)
- QIANFAN-18Chinese Commercial LEO Broadband Constellation (Qianfan / Thousand Sails)
- QIANFAN-19Broadband communications
- QIANFAN-2Chinese Commercial LEO Broadband Constellation (Qianfan / Thousand Sails)
- QIANFAN-20Broadband communications
- QIANFAN-21Broadband communications