China’s Xingyan ‘Star Eye’ network to track satellites and space debris
The web of 156 orbiting sensors will form the country’s second space situational awareness constellation designed to bring down the risk of collisions
China is launching a second satellite constellation to monitor objects in orbit to help commercial operators lower collision risks and ease the country’s long reliance on foreign tracking data.
Its developer, Xingtu Cekong, an Anhui-based spin-off of leading geospatial data company Zhongke Xingtu, said 12 satellites would be launched by 2027 and the full network in operation after 2028.
The network will deliver 30-minute updates, with global low-orbit coverage and targeted monitoring in higher orbits, Xingtu Cekong chairman and project leader Hu Yu said in Beijing on Thursday.
So far, the only fully operational network is the US military’s Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Programme, which uses five active satellites in geosynchronous orbit to monitor other spacecraft and investigate unusual activity.
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