Shanghai-based Fudan University has ventured into the new frontier of next-generation space infrastructure with very low Earth orbit, or VLEO, satellites, and has achieved breakthroughs in the relevant core technologies, the university said on Thursday.

A prototype of the satellite is expected to be unveiled soon, and an engineering model is anticipated by the end of this year or early 2027, it said.

Currently, the United States dominates the satellite industry with over 11,000 satellites in orbit, accounting for more than 70 percent of the global share. SpaceX's Starlink alone has over 10,000 satellites, creating a significant first-mover advantage. Experts believe that VLEO satellites present a strategic opportunity for China to surpass existing space infrastructure capabilities.

"Fudan University is committed to advancing core technologies and promoting the integration of industry, academia, and research to strive to establish VLEO as a strategic advantage for China," said Zhao Qiang, Party secretary of the Institute of Modern Physics at Fudan University.

VLEO satellites operate at altitudes of between 150 and 300 kilometers, compared to traditional low-Earth orbit satellites at 350 to 2,000 km. Such satellites offer natural advantages, including ease of entry, quick deorbiting, low radiation exposure, and little space debris. Also, they reduce overall launch costs by 90 percent.

Experts highlight several core advantages of VLEO satellites. In terms of performance, their Earth observation resolution can reach 0.1 to 0.5 meters, comparable to aerial drones, enhancing their sensing capabilities significantly. In terms of transmission efficiency, signal latency is as low as 5 milliseconds, close to fiber-optic levels, with communication speeds more than 10 times faster than traditional low-Earth orbit satellites.

However, VLEO is not a vacuum, resulting in greater drag on satellites, which requires continuous propulsion to maintain orbit. This challenge has limited the number of VLEO satellites.

To address this, the university has developed air-breathing plasma propulsion technology, which captures nitrogen and oxygen from the thin atmosphere as propellant, achieving thrust-drag balance and enabling indefinite orbital maintenance with a design life of over two years.

For the next step, the institute said it will launch a joint research plan for civilian applications of VLEO satellites in the Lancang-Mekong region, creating conditions to advance experimental satellite development.

Yang Yang, an associate professor at the institute, noted that the project might gradually deploy five satellites, forming a six-satellite constellation, capable of revisiting the same ground location in as little as an hour. This would enhance the application of VLEO satellite technology in regional economic and social development, improving public welfare and benefiting the general public.

On the same day, the university announced that the "Fudan No 1 Lancang-Mekong Future Satellite" has been operational for a year and a half, yielding significant scientific results, including the first domestic "front view" image of the sun based on Mg II k spectra taken by a satellite. This achievement aids in understanding solar activity mechanisms.

The team said that the successful launch of the satellite enabled high-resolution — better than 0.1 nanometer — extreme ultraviolet spectral observations of magnesium ion lines, resulting in the first domestic solar surface scan based on these spectral data, specifically the 279.63 nanometer light "front view" of the sun.

"Such findings help deepen our understanding of solar activity and support space weather forecasting,"Yang said, adding that some research results have been integrated into a space weather prediction model developed by Fudan University, initially demonstrating capabilities in ionospheric space weather prediction.

zhouwenting@chinadaily.com.cn