China deploys an alternative broadband satellite system to Elon Musks Starlink spacecraft.
China intends to compete with SpaceX's Starlink network by launching its first batch of internet satellites on Tuesday.
Known as "Thousand Sails," China claims that this constellation of more than 15,000 low-Earth orbit satellites would provide worldwide internet access.
The Chinese Academy of Sciences declared the mission a perfect success and said that a Long March 6A carrier rocket launched the first eighteen satellites into space from the Taiyuan launch facility in the northern Shanxi region of China.
According to state broadcaster CCTV, China plans to launch 648 satellites in the constellation's first phase by 2025 in order to develop a worldwide internet network.
China has assembled a constellation of low-Earth orbit, or LEO, satellites with the goal of supplying internet access. Elon Musk's SpaceX is the developer of Starlink, and Eutelsat, a European company, owns OneWeb, two well-known names in the space industry.
As the two countries' technology rivalry deepens, the launch of an internet constellation highlights Beijing's attempt to challenge American dominance in the field and China's lofty space goals.
To provide internet connectivity, China has put up a constellation of low-Earth orbit, or LEO, satellites. Two well-known names in the space sector are Elon Musk's SpaceX, which developed Starlink, and Eutelsat, a European company, which owns OneWeb.
The launch of a telecommunications constellation underscores China's aspirational space objectives and Beijing's determination to challenge US dominance in the field, as the two countries' technological rivalry grows more intense.
