China is supersizing its rocket industry – and it’s coming for Starlink
- Pulse assembly line will nearly double rocket launch capacity to deploy a ‘giant satellite constellation’ above Starlink sats
- Mega rocket factory is part of a larger space centre on track for its first launch next year
The country is constructing an unprecedented rocket assembly plant capable of producing 50 Long March 8 rockets a year, according to scientists involved in the project.
Once completed next year, the mega factory on the tropical island Hainan will nearly double China’s annual launch capacity – already one of the world’s largest.
No other existing facility can manufacture rockets at that rate, according to openly available information. Last year, Elon Musk’s SpaceX recorded 61 launches, most of them with reusable Falcon rockets.
The Long March 8 is a low-cost, non-reusable rocket that can house more than 20 Starlink-sized communication satellites. China intends to use the medium-sized launch vehicle, which has seen two successful test launches, to send more than 1,000 satellites into space every year, comparable to the current pace of SpaceX.
A giant satellite constellation is driving China’s space industry into a new age