iSpace completes China's first private commercial satellite launch

Chinese satellite company Beijing Starcraft Glory, also known as iSpace, has become the first private Chinese company to launch commercial satellites.
 
The rocket, called SQX-1 Y1, was launched on Wednesday at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, China, successfully sending two satellites into a 300km circular orbit.
 
According to an iSpace post on WeChat, the rocket launch achieved the milestone of being China's first private commercial space multi-satellite launch.

See also: Apollo 11 50 years on: A look at Australia's role in the moon landing

SQX-1 Y1 is also China's largest carrier to enter into space flight, the company said. Following SQX-1 Y1's successful launch, iSpace announced that it expects to have a large scale commercial launch by the end of 2020.  
 
iSpace currently has over 120 staff to run its operations.
 
China's private space sector is playing catch up compared to other countries. The US company SpaceX sent the world's first private rocket to the International Space Station back in 2012. 

SpaceX is currently sending satellites to space, through its Starlink program, with the goal of creating a home broadbandconstellation. The satellite company launched 60 Starlink satellites into space in May, which were the first of nearly 12,000 satellites that the company intends to put into orbit around Earth.

China last year outlined plans to build a space station, called China's Space Station (CSS), which is a joint initiative between the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs and China's Manned Space Agency.

Related Coverage

Another NASA moonshot? Nope. You can't BS your way to space

Opinion: For decades, NASA's been under-funded. Apollo 11 getting to the moon was a miracle of science and engineering. Can we do it again?

SpaceX launches 60 Starlink satellites

The payload sent on the Falcon 9 rocket weighs around 30,000 pounds.

SpaceX authorised to reduce number of satellites

The FCC has allowed SpaceX to reduce its number of satellites for home broadband by 16 units, and to operate them at a lower orbit than first authorised.

Rocket Lab launches first NASA CubeSat mission

ELaNa-19 mission follows the company last month successfully launching seven payloads to orbit.

MIT Space2 workshop: Rethinking design of personal environments in space travel (TechRepublic)

A recent MIT workshop focused on optimizing behavioral health and cognitive performance in confined environments found in space travel. Find out how this applies to the modern workplace.