China launches first two satellites within a project linked to the “Internet of Things”

On Tuesday, China placed in its orbit the first two satellites from a constellation devoted to what is known as the “Internet of Things”, meaning technology that allows electronic equipment to “communicate” with each other, according to official media outlets.

The launch took place at 9:16 a.m. (0116 GMT) from Jioguan (northwest) base, thus indicating the launch of the “Xingyun Project”, according to the New China News Agency.

“Xingyun-2-01” and “Xingyun-02-02” will be part of 80 communications satellites, all of which will be in low Earth orbit (at an altitude of less than two thousand kilometers) up to the year 2023, according to the same source.

The Qingyun project is the first space constellation dedicated to the Internet of Things developed independently from China, according to the agency.

The carrier rocket of the two satellites, called Kwaiju-1A, has been decorated with a drawing representing Chinese doctors and nurses fighting the Covid-19 epidemic with the phrase “salutations to healers” in Mandarin.

The Internet of Things is based on establishing communication between two electronic devices via the Internet without human intervention.

It may work on sensors or equipment from daily life.

This technology is used for many purposes, including improving traffic and improving management effectiveness, as well as bracelets that are able to monitor diseases and heating devices that automatically adapt to the weather.

The Internet of Things is expected to achieve a breakthrough with the development of the fifth generation network that provides 100 times faster speed than the fourth generation networks currently available.

China is not alone in this regard.

The European satellite group Eutelsat announced in September the launch of a constellation of 25 dwarf satellites to launch in the Internet of Things market.