China’s space program has a packed calendar. The country is planning 100 launches through the end of 2024, up more than 40% from last year, as it tries to overtake the US and become the dominant power beyond Earth.
Orienspace is one of several Chinese companies that have started using ships for launches. In February a 31-meter (102-foot) Smart Dragon-3 rocket made by the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, a subsidiary of state-owned China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp., took off from a ship in the South China Sea, carrying nine satellites to orbit. Industrywide, China has seen about a dozen such launches since 2019.
China is also expanding the country’s capacity for ground-based launches, including a new complex at a spaceport in Hainan that’s exclusively for private-sector companies. It’s scheduled to have its first mission soon.
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