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IPFS News Link • China

China's first private rocket launch kicks off the country's commercial space race

• https://www.theverge.com, Sean O'Kane

China celebrated the country's first rocket launch by a private spaceflight company this week. OneSpace Technologies, based out of Beijing, launched its OS-X rocket from an undisclosed location on a suborbital trajectory on Wednesday, reaching a reported altitude of 25 miles and traveling about 170 miles before falling back to Earth. It's the first demonstration of what the company says will become a scalable business built around sending small satellites into space.

Until now, China's space industry has been dominated by the government's space agency, the China National Space Administration (CNSA). The agency has sent satellites, science missions, and even people to space. It has also put robots on the Moon, placed two space stations in orbit, and has big plans for the coming decades.


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