(Yicai) Aug. 7 -- China has launched into space the first group of satellites from its Spacesail Constellation plan, which can be seen as the Chinese version of US aerospace firm SpaceX's satellite internet constellation Starlink.

A Long March 6A rocket carrying 18 low Earth orbit satellites lifted off from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in China's northern Shanxi province at 2.42 a.m. yesterday and successfully delivered them into orbit, according to Shanghai Spacecom Satellite Technology, the Shanghai government-backed firm responsible for Spacesail Constellation.

SSST will launch 108 LEO satellites into orbit this year, with the total expected to reach 648 by the end of next year, according to the Spacesail Constellation plan. Global network coverage will likely be achieved as early as 2027, while the deployment of all 15,000 LEO satellites will be completed by 2030.

"The Spacesail Constellation plan will provide users with low-latency, high-speed, and ultra-reliable satellite broadband internet services," a staffer at SSST told Yicai.

Yesterday's mission was also the 530th flight operated by the Long March rocket carrier rocket series.

LEO satellites usually run 300 to 2,000 kilometers above the Earth's surface. Compared to high-orbit satellites, they have lower costs and higher transmission efficiency.

"LEO satellites have application scenarios in communication, remote sensing, and navigation," Shen Yan, founder and chief executive officer of Edrive Space Technology, a Beijing-based developer of aerospace propulsion systems, told Yicai.

In addition to Spacesail Constellation, China is advancing two other satellite constellation schemes. The first, developed by state-owned China Satellite Network Group, is an information transmission network named GW Constellation, comprising nearly 13,000 satellites. The second is Honghu-3 Constellation, a 10,000-satellite services network developed by private aerospace firm Shanghai Lanjian Hongqing Technology.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Futura Costaglione