World's First 6G Satellite Sent Into Orbit by China

5G hasn't even been implemented properly yet, but China is already looking ahead to more advanced technology. The Asian country successfully launched on November 6 what has been described as "the world's first 6G satellite" into orbit.

RELATED: 6G HAS ALREADY USURPED 5G AND IT'S NOT EVEN HERE YET

The aim of the launch is to test the technology. The cutting-edge satellite was sent into space with 12 other satellites from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in the Shanxi Province.

The "#UESTC" satellite (Star Era-12), the first #6G test satellite in the world and first one named after the university since its establishment, was successfully lifted off at Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center and entered the scheduled orbit on the morning of Nov. 6. pic.twitter.com/ouM2rpC7pS

— UESTC-电子科技大学 (@UESTC1956) November 6, 2020

The satellite is named after the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China and will serve to test out the performance of the 6G frequency band in space. 6G is expected to be over 100 times faster than 5G which is already expected to be ultra-fast.

This is because it uses high-frequency terahertz waves to achieve impressive data-transmission speeds. In addition, the novel satellite also features technology that will be used for crop disaster monitoring and forest fire prevention.

Dangerous for humans?

For now, there is no guarantee that the tech being trialed will make it into the final standard. There are already fears that 5G may be dangerous for humans so it is safe to assume those fears will be compounded with 6G technology.

More than 215 scientists from 40 different countries have appealed to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), asking the body to consider health risks and environmental issues before deploying a 5G infrastructure. And we can venture a safe guess that the same amount of experts, if not more, will have similar concerns about 6G.