HELSINKI — Chinese low Earth orbit megaconstellation operator Spacesail has signed an agreement with Measat to expand its presence into Southeast Asia.
Chinese low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite operator Shanghai Spacesail Technologies Co. Ltd. (Spacesail) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Malaysia’s Measat Global Berhad to advance satellite broadband services, Measat announced Feb. 6.
The scope of the collaboration includes LEO broadband services using Spacesail’s Thousand Sails megaconstellation (also known as Qianfan), Direct-to-Device (D2D) communications and satellite-based Internet of Things solutions.
The development could expand Malaysia’s space and communications sector, strengthen bilateral relations and provide a boost to Spacesail’s positioning in the global satellite market.
“Measat is excited to begin this partnership with Spacesail to advance LEO satellite services across our markets,” Yau Chyong Lim, Chief Operating Officer of MEASAT, said in a statement. “We firmly believe in a multi-orbit satellite network to achieve progress in society and are pleased to have the opportunity to integrate the capabilities of Spacesail’s Thousand Sails megaconstellation with MEASAT’s fleet of Geostationary Orbit (“GSO”) satellites.”
Measat aims to integrate multi-orbit satellite networks to expand digital connectivity, especially in remote areas.
“For Spacesail, this partnership with Measat is another milestone in delivering global broadband connectivity and driving innovation in the satellite industry by synergising our respective strengths,” Jason Zheng, president of Spacesail, added.
The partnership is also seen as strengthening Malaysia-China cooperation, following the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations.
Spacesail’s expansion and constellation construction plans
The Measat MoU follows an agreement with Brazil in November, which will see Spacesail begin providing services to the county in 2026, and the establishment of a Spacesail subsidiary in Kazakhstan.
Spacesail has launched 72 satellites so far, and aims to provide low-latency, high-speed and ultra-reliable satellite broadband internet services worldwide with a constellation of more than 14,000 satellites.
The company has seen four batches of 18 satellites launched to date, each on Long March 6A expendable rockets from Taiyuan spaceport. The brightness of the first group of satellites alarmed astronomers. The next group could fly on a Long March 8 rocket from Hainan later this month.
Spacesail aims to have around 600 satellites in orbit by the end of 2025. This will require a ramping up of launch cadence, along with satellite production and payload integration. A new commercial spaceport on Hainan island could help facilitate such growth, along with efforts to increase production of the YF-100 engines used to power a number of kerosene-liquid oxygen launchers including the Long March 8.
A range of new commercial and Long March rockets with potential reusability are planned to launch this year.
Qianfan is not the only Chinese megaconstellation planned, with the first launch for the national Guowang project taking place in December 2024.
