At 11:09 am on November 6, the carrier rocket of the Long March on March 6 slowly lifted off from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in northern Shanxi Province.
Later, it was announced on the official WeChat platform of the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China that the world’s first 6G experimental satellite named after the university successfully lifted off from the Long March and entered the scheduled orbit on June 6.
The report (via) pointed out that the satellite is equipped with a terahertz satellite communication payload jointly developed by the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China and many top domestic laboratories.
According to the university’s announcement on its WeChat channel, it will establish a transceiver link on the satellite platform and conduct “the world’s first experiment of terahertz communication technology in space.”
This marks China’s breakthrough in exploring terahertz communication technology in the aerospace,” Professor Xu Yangsheng, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and academic director of the university’s Satellite Technology Research Institute, said in a statement.
The official also revealed in the statement that in addition to the 6G experiment, the satellite will also be used for smart city applications, disaster prevention, land planning, environmental protection, and monitoring of major infrastructure construction.
This project is another huge effort for China to stay ahead in the 6G connectivity race, even if 5G has not yet been widely promoted.
China is a leader in 5G technology, and the 5G dispute is largely responsible for the intensification of the China-US trade dispute, including sanctions imposed on the leading 5G gear manufacturer Huawei.
If the United States’ goal is to slow down China’s technological development, it will not be able to achieve this goal. Just like Japan and some other countries, China is already studying 6G.
