GalaxySpace developing orbiting internet service

GalaxySpace, a Beijing-based private satellite maker, is developing a new type of plate-shaped satellite that will allow operators to establish a direct link between their mobile phone and such spacecraft for better internet service.

The new-generation communications satellite, which has yet to be named, will look like a flat box on the ground. As soon as the craft is deployed in orbit, it will unfold its solar panels, which will also carry phased array antennas, according to Xu Ming, founder and chairman of GalaxySpace.

Xu said on Tuesday at a space industry forum in Chongqing that engineers have designed an advanced, unique technology to unfold solar panels in multiple directions, which will be crucial to the spacecraft.