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China Launched More Rockets Into Orbit In 2018 Than Any Other Country (technologyreview.com)

Privately funded space startups are changing China's space industry, helping it become a space power on par with the United States. "2018 is shaping up to be the first year in which more rockets reach Earth orbit from China than from any other country," reports MIT Technology Review. "As of mid-December, China had made 35 successful launches, as against 30 for the U.S."

"As American and Russian space programs struggle with uncertain budgets, China is expanding its efforts on every front: communications and reconnaissance satellites; a navigation and positioning constellation to rival America's GPS; a human spaceflight program; and ambitious space-science and robotic exploration projects. All of these are enabled by a menagerie of new rockets with advanced capabilities." Here's an excerpt from the report summarizing some of China's space ambitions: In 2014, the Chinese government decided to allow private investment in space-related industry. Landspace began with a few dozen people. It now has over 200 employees at a manufacturing base in Huzhou in eastern China and at assembly and testing facilities in X'ian, a central Chinese city. The company plans to work incrementally, beginning with nano-satellites -- devices weighing between 1 and 10 kilograms (2 to 22 pounds) -- then moving to larger cargoes and, eventually, into human spaceflight. In September 2018, iSpace launched three nanosatellites on a brief suborbital flight, becoming the first Chinese space startup to successfully get beyond Earth's atmosphere. Another company, LinkSpace, plans to launch a vertical takeoff, vertical landing rocket in 2020. Landspace, OneSpace, iSpace, LinkSpace, and ExPace (which fashions itself as a startup though it's a subsidiary of a state-owned enterprise) are the leaders of a bevy of lesser-known Chinese launch startups.

These launch companies are operating hand in hand with a number of new, privately funded Chinese companies that are focused on doing things in space, rather than on getting there. Spacety and Commsat, among others, are planning large constellations of small imagery and communication satellites. Such constellations -- whether Chinese or American -- are transforming aspects of the way space is used. By making low-resolution satellite imagery much cheaper to gather (among other novel applications for small satellites), they are catalyzing an era of more nimble commercial, scientific, and military experimentation.

58 comments

  1. Chinese propaganda, on my Slashdot? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    More likely than you might think.

    1. Re: Chinese propaganda, on my Slashdot? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Splendid

    2. Re: Chinese propaganda, on my Slashdot? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      At least it's better than the climate change propaganda.

  2. Details matter, as always by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The US launched what it needed to and planned to in 2018; it's a mature space faring nation. A couple of the SpaceX launches were developmental, but not as a case of the US trying to figure out spaceflight - it was a particular vendor (SpaceX) testing new vehicle designs (the Falcon9H and the Falcon9 Block5). 2019 will see more American test flights including two new manned spacecraft (DragonV2 and Starliner), but again it's not the US learning to operate in space but rather a couple of vendors validating vehicles and seeking governmental approval for them.

    China is still developing and learning,so it's to be expected that they would fly ata high rate if they can afford to. They've only recently learned to fly people and put up a test space station with the corresponding experiments in rendezvous and docking. Their program is growing and improving, but they are still in the learning phase.

    Launch rates are not purely indicators of capability. For the US and Russia they are more of an indication of legislative and budget priorities.

    1. Re:Details matter, as always by johnsie · · Score: 2

      All countries are learning, including the US. The failure rate on US projects is still quite high. Some of us still remember why the Shuttle had to be retired. To catch up with the US, China only needs to put a rover or two on mars and take some nice photos of planets. 10 missions max could show the world that China is a major player in space exploration. They are already planning to put a rover on the far side of the moon, which has never been done before and have shot down a satellite. Yes, the US put men on the moon, but it's already common knowledge that manned spaceflight is kind of pointless. The nearest habitable planter is arguably tripper 1e, and it would take more than a lifetime to get there with current, or even near-future technology. Sending people to mars would be a very risky endeavour. However, China is probably more interested in near-earth orbit. If you can dominate that then you can dominate GPS, data, spy on people and even weaponise space.

    2. Re: Details matter, as always by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Weaponize space?

      Heavens to Betsy! That is a violation of INTERNATIONAL LAW!

      I put it in all caps be it is so important!

      It needs to be said twice!

      INTERNATIONAL LAW!

      Can you feel it? It makes my leg tingle!

    3. Re:Details matter, as always by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      the shuttle program was retired because of maintenance and upkeep costs, as well as the costs to rebuild and retrofit them, not because nasa had a couple failures during their entire existence. lower costs from the russians, and even just anticipated from spacex, had more to do with their retirement than anything else

    4. Re: Details matter, as always by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Interesting

      Buddy of mine got his start working for a company in Cali that specialized in tracking space debris, or basically plotting, observing, then replotting objects orbital tragectories that had no way of communicating their position back to Earth.

      Many of those were actually satellites specially made not to routinely phone home. They had tactical setups and required special comms to make work.

      The were from a number of US private companies and got sent up alongside legit sats used for other purposes.

    5. Re:Details matter, as always by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      USA! USA! USA!

    6. Re:Details matter, as always by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No, it was due to all the engineers dying, retiring or moving to other projects.

    7. Re:Details matter, as always by mentil · · Score: 1

      Indeed, the Shuttle program was so untenably expensive, they moved forward with a replacement program (SLS) with huge R&D costs that uses the same booster hardware, only with one additional booster segment.
      Oh, wait...
      The boosters were what made it expensive, the Shuttle itself was a cost-saving measure.

      --
      Corruption is convincing someone that the selfless ideal is the same as their selfish ideal.
    8. Re:Details matter, as always by vtcodger · · Score: 1

      For the US and Russia they are more of an indication of legislative and budget priorities.

      More accurately, legislative and budget priorities in past years. It typically takes a number of years to design, build, and test both launch platforms and payloads For example, the James Webb Space Observatory has been under development for TWO DECADES and won't launch until 2021. And that's only if the launch date doesn't slip (again).

      --
      You can't see ANYTHING from a car, You've got to get out of the goddamned contraption and walk...Edward Abbey
    9. Re:Details matter, as always by AmiMoJo · · Score: 3, Interesting

      China still has the ability to put humans in space, something the US currently does not. And the next person on the moon will likely be Chinese too. Mars is harder to predict, maybe a Chinese astronaut or maybe a Space X employee, but at the rate it is currently going NASA is definitely in 3rd place.

      It's such a damn shame, especially with the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11 next year.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    10. Re:Details matter, as always by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      LOL at "the next person on the Moon", I think you meant "the next MAN on the Moon", because there aren't enough women in any country to actually set up THEIR OWN SPACE PROGRAM, are there...

    11. Re: Details matter, as always by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      WTF is "Cali"?!??? New Caledonia?

      Asshole. Never been here? Spell it out.

    12. Re:Details matter, as always by MightyYar · · Score: 1

      Space access is being commoditized to the point that civilian commercial corporations can lob people into orbit, and you call that "a shame"? Soyez and China's Soyez 2.0 represent the old way. People getting in to space without the blessing of her majesty is a tremendous advance.

      --
      W..w..W - Willy Waterloo washes Warren Wiggins who is washing Waldo Woo.
    13. Re:Details matter, as always by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The SpaceX Crew Dragon will be flying soon, so don't be too ashamed.

    14. Re: Details matter, as always by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Two words will fix this.....Moon Kitchens!"

    15. Re: Details matter, as always by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ^ why the rest of the US hates cali and cheers for the San Andreas fault

    16. Re: Details matter, as always by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Eyeroll

    17. Re: Details matter, as always by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Get back in the capsule and make me a sammich.

    18. Re:Details matter, as always by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

      Commercial services are great, it's just that there isn't much a of a business case for getting back to the moon or to Mars.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    19. Re:Details matter, as always by quenda · · Score: 1

      China still has the ability to put humans in space, something the US currently does not. And the next person on the moon will likely be Chinese too.

      Very likely. The US and Russians have nothing to prove, and no other reason to justify the cost. I don't see India beating China.

      Mars could be a NASA mission, with SpaceX providing the rockets.

    20. Re:Details matter, as always by MightyYar · · Score: 2

      Not currently, no - but there cannot ever be a business case for, say, the moon if there isn't first a business case for simply lifting people into space. It's not hard to imagine how you might need people to help service a space infrastructure, but it is hard to imagine a need for any kind of commercial activity on the moon without a commercial space infrastructure.

      But that is besides the point. If the government can contract a company to use off-the-shelf hardware to boost people into space, that is a huge step forward versus contracting with companies to produce custom designs from scratch. Launches will be an order of magnitude cheaper - perhaps more.

      --
      W..w..W - Willy Waterloo washes Warren Wiggins who is washing Waldo Woo.
    21. Re:Details matter, as always by Ogive17 · · Score: 1

      Priorities have shifted. It's much cheaper to pay Russia to launch our astronauts to ISS than to maintain a special vehicle for that purpose alone.

      The capability is there, the desire.. not so much.

      --
      "Action without philosophy is a lethal weapon; philosophy without action is worthless."
    22. Re: Details matter, as always by kaatochacha · · Score: 1

      Saying "cali" pretty much indicates you've n ever been to "cali", nor lived there.

    23. Re: Details matter, as always by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What do you mean? Hell, I used to live in Frisco!

    24. Re:Details matter, as always by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Who gives a shit? We went to the moon half a century ago. You know, when your homeboy Mao was causing the deaths of tens of millions of chinese people with all his dope ideas.

    25. Re:Details matter, as always by LostMyBeaver · · Score: 1

      Wow... weaponize... I noticed the 'S' in your spelling. It's pretty significant at this time while Brexit is occurring.

      A few years ago, I remember something that was almost life changing for me. It was an interview with Mikhail Gorbachev where he came out as critical against the western world. When the worked with Reagan and GWB to end the cold war peacefully, he believed he was helping Russia to enter a new world where it would be England, the USA and Russia reigning in an era of cooperation and peace. What he said however was that James Bond (specifically) and Hollywood made a huge deal about how Russia was nothing more than a bunch of corrupt ex-KGB and hookers. And of course, England and the US made a huge deal out of how they won the cold war and how Russia was basically about as important as any other third world country now.

      This changed my life because I realized how foolish we all were after the curtain came down. We all listened to the propaganda and what would make good TV. We seemed to think it didn't matter that the Russians were now going to the movies and watching the same things we were. It didn't matter that we were all buying into this James Bond "We're civilized, you're all animals" thing.

      All major countries spy. If we go back to James Bond, not only does the UK spy, but the British take incredible pride in their spy capabilities. They advertise them as being national heroes. I'm actually shocked Ian Flemming wasn't knighted.

      Yes, China spies, but imagine if we classified all aspects of English industry as being completely military and intelligence related?

      What if I were to suggest as an American that the only reason why England has any interest in space is so they could spy?

      You might site things like science, research, industry, communication, etc... and you'd be right.

      If you were to suggest that China only cares about military and intelligence, I'd call you a fool.

      China cares about communism which in its Chinese form is rapidly approaching systematic (and somewhat enforced) Confucianism. The Chinese government repressed two full generations in order to establish a normal. As such, they established a set of rules and molded a sense of uniformity throughout the entire nation. And even if the little red book was considered horrible by the west, you should read it sometime. It was about working together to make something better. Norway (where I live) has a little red book called "Janteloven" which is also used in Sweden and Denmark. By something Americans and Englishmen would call brainwashing, a standard is set which convincing the people of the nations to think of more than just themselves. It's a beautiful thing... I as an American learned a great deal about being a good person by living in a society that damn near brutally inflicts communism on its people from birth. I mean, seriously... you are expected to leave your baby in a baby carriage in the freezing cold while you sit and drink coffee indoors at a cafe.

      China cares about establishing a One China vision which is far closer to the American dream than American ever had. But the American dream could never be accomplished through the western way. It required a massive portion of the entire world's population to work together towards a goal.

      If you need proof of any of this... look to India, a country defined by "Every man for himself"... I spoke to a pretty Indian girl at a hotel in Qatar not long ago and asked her "As a woman, would you recommend bringing my wife and daughter to Doha on vacation" and she immediately responded "Yes!" and I asked "Wow... I expected to hear stories of repression against women" and she said "Nonsense.... I love Doha" and I asked "Why", she responded "Because if someone rapes me, I can go to the police". I stood completely dumbfounded and unable to speak.

      Now... let's compare India to the 51 states (US and England) and to China.

      India which is every person for themselves is a third world caste based country where girls flee the c

  3. GOP Incel problems again? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "Angry Republican nazi fagchild blames China, gays and "the other" for his failures in life and inability to get any education, news at 11"

    1. Re:GOP Incel problems again? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      haha that actually made me laugh so I'm going to steal it for use elsewhere

  4. The good thing about Incels is... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    that they don't reproduce.

  5. It's sad to see what the GOP has become, lol. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    That's true, they lose their mind as conspiracy retards and go on public shooting sprees in the name of Republican nutter pride. They want to die, they just don't have the clarity or functional balls to end themselves. They need a push.

    You saw that gibbering nazi crybaby when he was faced with just regular arrest, lol? https://splinternews.com/nazi-crybaby-films-his-own-meltdown-after-threatening-t-1797908482

    I shouldn't laugh at them, it's un-Christian of me, but damn lol. There's going to be a lot of angry sexless nazi blobs of self-loathing running around in MAGA hats when Trump gets hauled to prison. Lots of enjoyable video ahead.

    1. Re:It's sad to see what the GOP has become, lol. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      When Trump is re-elected, remember cut up and down, not across.

  6. Quislings by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    China can launch rockets wizbang cause American biz-nazis pay them to ... by exporting USA manufacture and IP and thus income to the chi.comz. Such traitorous mercantile sluts are properly identified as Quislings ... and historically ... deserve five minutes, a fag and a blindfold before the 7.62 FMJs hit home.

    1. Re:Quislings by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The FMJs pop out the side and land on the floor, usually.

    2. Re:Quislings by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Pretty sure FMJ means the bullet's lead is encased in another metal, so as to avoid war crimes.

  7. Lol. AliSpace, by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    fElon's nemesis.

  8. number of launches != number satellites by ewanm89 · · Score: 1

    Seriously, SpaceX just launched 64 on one launch, several other launched have been multiple satellites on one launch too. Pretty standard for the new iridium satellites.

    1. Re:number of launches != number satellites by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      China shot down one, creating millions of little new satellites.

    2. Re:number of launches != number satellites by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The numbers are even less impressive when you look at the per capita values both for lanches and satelites...

  9. how many are... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    How many of these launches from China are failed moon launches? Or, like most of the crap from China, are they expecting the US to pay for the last mile delivery of these devices to the moon?

  10. couple of failures? by mschaffer · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The whole shuttle program was an overpriced failure. If you think that the failures in the shuttle program is limited to a "couple of failures" (assuming you are referring to the losses of Challenger and Columbia) you are probably misinformed. These failures were just the saddest consequences of the Shuttle program.

    1. The completely ridiculous and outrageous budget forced the placement of the orbiter into a location relative to the booster rockets and tanks that killed 14 people.
    2. The final design of the orbiters were 20% overweight---making them too heavy to launch many devices the Shuttle program was originally designed to handle (such as launching some satellites into polar orbit).
    3. Two words: Tile Maintenance
    4. Much lower launch rates (max of 9/yr versus projected 24 to 55).
    5. The horrible safety culture at NASA and their vendors/contractors.
    6. Cost overrun after cost overrun after cost overrun.... (Even when considering that it was a US government project.)

    These are just a few of the program failures. People have written books about how bad the Shuttle program was and how bad NASA still is.

    By the way, the main reason the Shuttle program ran as long as it did is because it was NASA's one egg in their basket. There was nothing to replace the "space truck" while the US built the new space station (eventually becoming the ISS) which, itself, was very behind schedule. Had the fall of the Soviet Union occurred earlier, along with Roscosmos' involvement in the ISS, the Shuttle program would most likely have been cancelled earlier.

  11. Re:What, even more than Africa? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    fuck off you god damn retarded faggot

  12. hillary by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Thanks to the clintons

  13. emerging economy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    China still wants to get "Emerging Economy" treatment. They want to act like a super power, let them pay the dues like a super power.

  14. Great, they can pitch in by The+Snazster · · Score: 0

    This is great, now they can pitch in and clean up that huge orbital debris mess they made hugely larger than it already was in their 2007 anti-satellite weapon test. (See the Kessler Syndrome.)

  15. Whats wrong? You can't feel superior any more? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You are still the most polluting.
    And have the most orange leaders.

  16. LOL how many humans did the US launch? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The US asked nicely for the Russians to launch people for them, because they are too scared of letting the Chinese do it and implant backdoors in American astronauts brains.

  17. Thunderbirds, the making of by AndyKron · · Score: 2

    Ya but we're getting the Thunderbirds! Trump said so, so there! Are you ready for this? https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

  18. Russia Still Owns Space by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Lets be honest, the only reliable space program and that guarantees no one will be roasted during takeoff or re entry are the Russian rockets. Even their latest Soyuz failure showed us that for them safety does matter, and that their engineering solutions work, something that cannot be said from any other space program

  19. Good for China by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    While China is building the 21st century, USAians led by their corporate media hate each other based on which group of Asshats happened to be in control of the town they grew up in

    1. Re:Good for China by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      yippee! Success based on dictators and slavery! I bet you enjoyed playing the remade Wolfenstein game, saying "Hey, those nazis got a space base! how talented!"