Get the latest tech news
China’s Effort to Build a Competitor to Elon Musk's Starlink Is Off to a Bumpy Start
China has launched over 100 satellites for two broadband networks that could eventually rival the service from Elon Musk's SpaceX, but progress is hampered by launch bottlenecks and high failure rates.
The newcomers also stand to benefit as CEO Elon Musk’s deepening entanglements in US politics raises reputational and security risks for SpaceX (Starlink’s parent company) globally. That will create logistical burdens and extra costs for other satellite operators, and Samson says there’s an urgent need to establish coordination mechanisms between nations to avoid space collisions as mega-constellation projects pick up their pace. A map Qianfan representatives presented at a space industry conference in China last year showed it’s already working in six markets: Brazil, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Oman, Pakistan, and Uzbekistan.
Or read this on Wired
