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The Rise of SpaceSail Elon Musk's Starlink has long dominated the satellite internet industry, but a Chinese government-backed project, SpaceSail, is aiming to challenge its position. SpaceSail has just a few hundred satellites in low Earth orbit compared with Starlink's 10,000-plus. However, the company says it now has enough satellites to begin its first commercial application, is scaling up at speed, and is reportedly negotiating with dozens of countries to provide satellite internet coverage. SpaceSail's Strategy and Goals According to Blaine Curcio, founder of Hong Kong-based firm Orbital Gateway Consulting, SpaceSail is "deliberately targeting" places where Starlink has faced "political or regulatory issues". The company's recent fundraising round was dwarfed by Starlink owner SpaceX's record-breaking $85.7bn initial public offering, but could China's growing global strength enable SpaceSail to make headway? What is SpaceSail? The project – officially called the SpaceSail Constellation in English, or Qianfan (Thousand Sails) in Chinese – was launched in 2023 by state-backed firm Shanghai Spacecom Satellite Technology (SSST), with the goal of providing "high-speed, secure and reliable" broadband internet worldwide. SSST is backed by state-run research institute the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Shanghai Municipal People's Government, which provided its initial funding of 6.7bn yuan ($943m). How Many Satellites Has SpaceSail Launched? SpaceSail launched its first satellites in August 2024, sending up 18 flat-panel satellites aboard a Long March 6A rocket. A second group of 18 satellites was launched two months later, before a third group of 18 in December. There are now at least 200 active SpaceSail satellites in Earth's orbit, following the 12th and most recent launch aboard the Long March 8 rocket in June this year. The firm said it now has enough satellites to begin its first commercial application, tracking maritime vessels at sea. How Does SpaceSail Compare to Starlink? Starlink is an industry leader with more than 12 million active users across 160 countries and territories. It operates a constellation of around 10,413 satellites, with plans to eventually expand to 42,000. SpaceSail lags far behind, but it has big ambitions. The firm says it will have more than 10,000 satellites operating in low-altitude orbit by the end of 2030. The Future of SpaceSail Analyst Curcio cautions that SpaceSail's success is far from guaranteed, and that it also faces competition from within China. SpaceSail must compete for rockets and funding with domestic rival SatNet – another Chinese state-owned firm building its own similarly sized constellation of satellites, called Guowang. SpaceSail, however, remains a more natural competitor to Starlink, with SatNet primarily focused on domestic telecoms and national security.