To Counter Musk's Starlink, China Launches Rocket With Cluster of Satellites

The competition between China and the US for global power has extended to a space race focused on satellites. 

This week, China launched a rocket that will release clusters of satellites into Earth’s orbit.  

China’s ruling Communist Party is working quickly to catch up to Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite system. Starlink has almost 7,000 satellites in orbit. They work in tandem to power broadband internet and military defense systems across the planet.   

A Chinese company, Qianfan, hopes to place 14,000 satellites into orbit by the year’s end. Qianfan is backed by China's government. And a number of other Chinese companies are also working to build large networks of satellites. China wants to launch 40,000 satellites in the coming decade.  

Musk also is planning to expand Starlink. He has a goal of 42,000 satellites in orbit.  

What’s driving this space race? Experts say it’s both military and economic. Steven Feldstein explained that China has seen how Starlink has helped Ukraine in its war against Russia. Feldstein is a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. 

China has also made progress in other areas of the space race. Last June, its space program placed a probe on the far side of the moon. It became the first nation to land a probe on the moon’s far corner. China wants to send manned crews to the moon by 2030. And it wants to build a base on its south pole by 2035.  

Reflect: How do you think competition between countries affects technological progress?

Photo of a rocket carrying a group of low-Earth orbit satellites taking off from the Wenchang Space Launch Center from Reuters.