HELSINKI - China has formally established a national very low Earth orbit (VLEO) industry alliance, because apparently operating satellites at altitudes where the atmosphere is thick enough to be annoying is the next big thing. The VLEO Technology Innovation and Industry Development Alliance was founded on June 27 at a conference in Shenzhen, co-founded by 34 organisations including universities, research institutes, and commercial space companies, with six academicians and over 250 industry experts in attendance, according to Chinese media Economic Daily.
The move follows actual orbital progress: China currently has two experimental satellites chugging along below 300 kilometers, braving atmospheric drag that would make most satellites weep. Very low Earth orbit (VLEO), defined as orbits below 300 kilometers, offers advantages for Earth observation and communications - higher resolution imagery, lower signal latency, reduced power requirements, and a nifty built-in deorbit feature (swift reentry post-mission). The catch: you have to overcome atmospheric drag that's roughly 10 times greater than at the International Space Station's altitude, which places extreme demands on propulsion systems.
Shiyan-25, a technology demonstration satellite developed by the China Academy of Space Technology's (CAST) DFH Shenzhen subsidiary and launched in June 2023, has been maintaining an altitude of approximately 270 kilometers since September 2023 - that's over 20 months of stubbornly refusing to fall back to Earth. Its propulsion system remains a state secret. Jonathan McDowell, a former astrophysicist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics who tracks orbital activity, told SpaceNews that Shiyan-25 appears to be testing a specific operational mission profile for a future system.
Meanwhile, Qiankun-1, developed by commercial firm C-Space and launched in July 2023 on a Galactic Energy Ceres-1 rocket, is on a more adventurous trajectory. The satellite, carrying test payloads for hyperspectral imagery, visible light cameras, and intelligent image processors, uses a wide-range Hall electric propulsion system developed by Yidong Space (covering 100 to 1,350 watts of power and 6.5 to 84 millinewtons of thrust) and is currently at a mean altitude of around 252 kilometers. McDowell called it a research 'how low can you go' mission, noting Japan's Tsubame satellite operated at even lower altitudes in 2018-2019, proving sustained sub-300 km operations are technically achievable - but China is now doing it across multiple concurrent programs, because why do one when you can do several?
Then there's Haishao-1, an 80-kilogram X-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite launched in December 2024, developed by the Aerospace Information Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in collaboration with AIRSAT Technology Group (a CAS spinout from 2020). Unlike most SAR satellites in polar sun-synchronous orbits, Haishao-1 operates at 43-degree inclination and is currently at approximately 370 kilometers, much lower than typical SAR orbits. AIRCAS documentation states VLEO improves radar performance, enabling resolution better than one meter in stripmap mode while reducing power requirements, with the low-inclination orbit targeting equatorial and tropical regions underserved by conventional polar-orbiting SAR systems. It's the first in a planned series, because one satellite is never enough.
These aren't China's first attempts. Tianxing-1, launched in June 2022, maintained approximately 290 kilometers for around eight months before reentering in March 2023. A follow-on, Tianxing-1 (02), launched in January 2024 and reentered in September 2025. CASIC's Chutian program, which aims to establish a VLEO constellation, launched a technology demonstrator in May 2024 that reentered in May 2025.
The propulsion challenge has attracted commercial investment. Shanhai Xingyao, a Chengdu startup founded in August 2025, closed a seed round in May led by Jinjiang Talent Fund (under Chengdu Science and Innovation Investment Group). The company is developing what it describes as China's first air-breathing helicon plasma engine, which ingests residual atmospheric gas as propellant rather than carrying conventional propellant onboard - eliminating the main constraint on mission lifetime at very low altitudes. They claim successful prototype ignition verification in a simulated VLEO environment, with key performance metrics at globally leading levels. Fudan University in Shanghai announced in March it has also developed air-breathing plasma propulsion technology for VLEO, capturing nitrogen and oxygen from the thin atmosphere to use as propellant, with plans for a satellite demonstration constellation.
China isn't alone in this madness. Clarity-1 launched by Albedo in March 2025, Bellatrix and TelePIX planning a 2028 air-breathing VLEO imaging demonstration, funding for NordSpace in Canada, UK startup NewOrbit recently raising funding, the US Space Force and NASA launching DiskSat experiments, and Redwire securing a DARPA contract for its Otter VLEO mission. While many initiatives are early stage, China has demonstrated in-orbit endurance, emerging propulsion investment, and now formally institutionalised the entire sector - suggesting China's VLEO activity is ready to move from experimental missions to systematic programs. Because if you're going to fight atmospheric drag, you might as well do it with a formal alliance.