{
  "id": "qianfan",
  "name": "Qianfan (Thousand Sails / G60)",
  "aliases": [
    "Spacesail",
    "G60 Starlink",
    "Qianfan Jigui"
  ],
  "domain": "space",
  "country": "CHN",
  "category": "Commercial LEO broadband constellation",
  "status": "in-development",
  "fielded": null,
  "operators": [
    "CHN"
  ],
  "summary": "Shanghai-backed Chinese broadband megaconstellation intended to compete with Starlink.",
  "specs": [
    {
      "k": "orbit_regime",
      "v": "LEO",
      "src": [
        "gsp-qianfan"
      ],
      "conf": "medium"
    },
    {
      "k": "sats_planned",
      "v": 15000,
      "src": [
        "gsp-qianfan"
      ],
      "conf": "medium",
      "note": "More than 15,000 planned"
    },
    {
      "k": "first_launch",
      "v": 2024,
      "src": [
        "gsp-qianfan"
      ],
      "conf": "medium"
    },
    {
      "k": "sats_count",
      "v": 108,
      "src": [
        "ussf-space-threat-2025"
      ],
      "conf": "high",
      "note": "G60 satellites launched by December 2025 (USSF)"
    },
    {
      "k": "operator_org",
      "v": "Shanghai Spacecom Satellite Technology (SSST)",
      "src": [
        "gsp-qianfan"
      ],
      "conf": "medium"
    },
    {
      "k": "on_orbit",
      "v": 275,
      "src": [
        "celestrak-gp"
      ],
      "conf": "high",
      "note": "Payloads with current element sets in the public catalog, active or not."
    },
    {
      "k": "active_sats",
      "v": 275,
      "src": [
        "celestrak-gp"
      ],
      "conf": "medium",
      "note": "Count in the CelesTrak active satellites list, which estimates operational status."
    },
    {
      "k": "perigee_km",
      "v": [
        769,
        1080
      ],
      "src": [
        "celestrak-gp"
      ],
      "conf": "high",
      "note": "Active satellites per CelesTrak, element epoch about 2026-11-08."
    },
    {
      "k": "apogee_km",
      "v": [
        778,
        1089
      ],
      "src": [
        "celestrak-gp"
      ],
      "conf": "high",
      "note": "Active satellites per CelesTrak, element epoch about 2026-11-08."
    },
    {
      "k": "period_min",
      "v": [
        100.3,
        106.9
      ],
      "src": [
        "celestrak-gp"
      ],
      "conf": "high",
      "note": "Active satellites per CelesTrak, element epoch about 2026-11-08."
    },
    {
      "k": "inclination_deg",
      "v": [
        88.96,
        89.03
      ],
      "src": [
        "celestrak-gp"
      ],
      "conf": "high",
      "note": "Active satellites per CelesTrak, element epoch about 2026-11-08."
    }
  ],
  "payloads": [],
  "variants": [],
  "art": "satellite",
  "image": null,
  "verified": null,
  "changelog": [
    {
      "date": "2026-11-08",
      "change": "Entry created from cited open sources"
    },
    {
      "date": "2026-11-08",
      "change": "Orbital elements from CelesTrak GP data (epoch about 2026-11-08): 275 catalogued, 275 active."
    }
  ],
  "url": "https://www.defensepedia.com/systems/qianfan.html",
  "sources": {
    "gsp-qianfan": {
      "title": "Qianfan Jigui",
      "publisher": "Gunter's Space Page",
      "url": "https://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/qianfan.htm",
      "published": null,
      "tier": 3,
      "checked": "2026-11-08"
    },
    "ussf-space-threat-2025": {
      "title": "Space Threat Fact Sheet (current as of December 2025)",
      "publisher": "U.S. Space Force, Headquarters Space Force Intelligence",
      "url": "https://www.spaceforce.mil/About-Us/Fact-Sheets/Fact-Sheet-Display/Article/4297159/space-threat-fact-sheet",
      "published": "2025-12-01",
      "tier": 1,
      "checked": "2026-11-08"
    },
    "celestrak-gp": {
      "title": "NORAD GP element sets (current data)",
      "publisher": "CelesTrak (data from the U.S. Space Force 18th/19th Space Defense Squadron catalog)",
      "url": "https://celestrak.org/NORAD/elements/",
      "published": "2026-11-08",
      "tier": 1,
      "checked": "2026-11-08"
    }
  }
}