Lift-off for Lingxi-03: China tests ultra-thin flexible solar wing for satellite network to rival Elon Musk’s Starlink

Name: SpaceX and Indonesia launch satellite to boost high-speed internet coverage in the country
Uploaded: 2023-07-27T05:59:32.000Z
Duration: 1 min 21 s
Description: SpaceX and Indonesia launch satellite to boost high-speed internet coverage in the country

The Lingxi-03 and its bendable solar panels are developed by the Beijing-based start-up GalaxySpace

The communications satellite has an open-frame design with all instruments attached to the exterior and exposed to harsh space environment

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The ultra-thin, flexible solar wing unfolds to about 9 metres: Photo: Weibo

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Published: 1:59pm, 27 Jul 2023Updated: 9:18am, 31 Jul 2023

China has launched its first communications satellite bearing an ultra-thin flexible solar wing as it tests technologies for the country’s planned 13,000-satellite broadband megaconstellation in low-Earth orbit to rival SpaceX’s Starlink.

The Lingxi-03, developed by the Beijing-based start-up GalaxySpace, lifted off from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Centre in Shanxi province in central China on top of a Long March 2D rocket at 10.50am on Sunday.

The Lingxi-03’s bendable solar panel measures about 1mm thick – similar to a credit card and only 5 per cent of the thickness of a traditional solar panel – according to state broadcaster CCTV. When folded inside a rocket, the solar array is 5cm (2 inches) thick, and it expands to 9 metres long and 2.5 metres wide (29.5 feet by 8.2 feet) once operational in orbit.

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Previously, China had only used such solar panels to power its Tiangong space station, CCTV reported on Sunday.

“These solar wings are small, lightweight and easy to store. They absorb more solar energy than traditional solar panels do and are especially suitable for large-scale stackable satellite launches,” Zhu Zhengxian, chief technology officer of GalaxySpace, told China Science Daily on Tuesday.

The flexible solar wing of the Lingxi-03 satellite expands to about 9 metres long. Photo: GalaxySpace via Xinhua

The Lingxi-03 is also China’s first satellite with an integrated main body structure, according to Zhu. He said the satellite platform was inspired by the chassis of a car and used advanced die-cast technologies, making it suited to mass production.

The Lingxi-03 is equipped with a digital payload that can handle tens of gigabytes of data per second, and will verify technologies related to next-generation low-orbit broadband communications, active thermal control and stackable satellite release, among others, the satellite’s chief commander Hu Zhao told CCTV.