Chinese pseudo-company launches nine satellites from ocean platform
The Chinese pseudo-company Orienspace today successfully placed nine satellites into orbit, its solid-fueled Gravity-1 rocket lifting off from an ocean platform off the coast of northeast China.
This was the third launch of Gravity-1, all successful. Though supposedly privately designed and built, solid-fueled rockets are routinely used for military missiles. It is thus very likely this “company” was closely supervised by China’s military in developing the rocket, which also likely controls its actions in all ways.
The leaders in the 2026 launch race:
88 SpaceX
46 China
10 Rocket Lab (plus two suborbital HASTE launches)
10 Russia
For the third straight year SpaceX leads the entire world combined in total launches, 88 to 81.
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