Chinese commercial and state-owned companies plan to put thousands of communications satellites in orbit.
A launch on Monday kicked off a company's bid to become a Chinese answer to Elon Musk's SpaceX.The rocket carried up an initial batch of 18 low Earth orbit communications satellites out of a planned 15,000, the China Securities Journal reported.The launch took place at the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in the northern province of Shanxi.
Another wholly government-funded satellite constellation, known as Guowang and run by the state-run China-Satellite Network Group, has also been in the works since 2021, with the eventual goal of establishing a 13,000-strong satellite network.Monday's launch comes as China establishes itself as a major player in outer space, a new frontier for great power competition. China conducted 67 space launch missions in 2023, second only to the U.S., and placed 221 spacecraft in orbit.
United Kingdom Latest News, United Kingdom Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
SpaceX moving spacecraft splashdowns to Long Beach, days after Elon Musk said company was leaving CALess than two weeks after Elon Musk announced SpaceX was leaving California, he is moving Dragon spacecraft splashdowns from Florida to Long Beach.
Read more »
Elon Musk relocates X and SpaceX headquarters over California's new gender identity lawElon Musk is moving his X and SpaceX headquarters out of California after a new law that requires schools to keep secrets from parents.
Read more »
What Elon Musk's Texas relocation plan for SpaceX, X HQs could mean for CAExpert says moving a main office out of state would likely mean anywhere from dozens of lost jobs to a couple hundred, not thousands of jobs lost. 'This is just Elon being Elon,' says Thornberg.
Read more »
What Elon Musk's Texas relocation plan for SpaceX, X HQs could mean for CAExpert says moving a main office out of state would likely mean anywhere from dozens of lost jobs to a couple hundred, not thousands of jobs lost. 'This is just Elon being Elon,' says Thornberg.
Read more »
No kidding! King Charles III bestows royal title on rare golden goat breedElon Musk is moving SpaceX headquarters from California to Texas.
Read more »
Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff calls for Biden to drop out of presidential raceElon Musk is moving SpaceX headquarters from California to Texas.
Read more »