China is working to copy Elon Musk’s Starlink system of small satellites that enable easy access to the internet from remote locations.

In late 2023, Shanghai Gesi Aerospace Technology, known as Genesat, unveiled its version of a flat-panel satellite as part of a space race with Starlink, the online newsletter The Wire China reported this week. The satellite is the size of a motorcycle and a key element of China’s space race to build its own version of Starlink’s thousands of small orbiting satellites.

“It used to take two to three months to design and customize a satellite,” Cao Jin, the general manager of Genesat, told the newsletter. “Now the factory can churn out a satellite every one and a half days and produce up to 300 a year.”

Mr. Musk’s Starlink had deployed 6,000 low Earth satellites for its network. Plans by the company call for launching 36,000 satellites in the coming years. Genesat, by contrast, has launched fewer than 200 small satellites for its communication system.

China views Starlink as a threat to its ability to control information for its domestic audience. The internet in China is tightly monitored and controlled by what analysts say is the world’s most sophisticated censorship technology. A Starlink connection would give Chinese netizens free access to the internet and circumvent what critics call the government’s “Great Firewall.”

China declared satellite internet to be a national priority in 2020 and created a company called Guowang, with plans for 13,000 satellites. Guowang is under control of the China Satellite Network Group (China SatNet), which in turn is controlled by the state-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission. Another large Chinese satellite constellation called G60 Starlink is planned with 12,000 satellites, of which 648 are deployed.

Still another company, the rocket company Shanghai Landspace Hongqing Technology, announced plans for deploying 10,000 Honghu-3 satellites.

With thousands of satellites flying in orbit, there is a potential for massive space junk. One benefit for the military, however, is that the large number of small satellites complicates space warfare efforts to target satellites with missiles or jammers in the event of a future conflict.

The U.S. Army is using a military version of Starlink called “Starshield,” which uses high-strength encryption, as a backup system in case the main communications networks are electronically jammed in battle.

• Bill Gertz can be reached at bgertz@washingtontimes.com.