China is a long way from reaching this year’s space launch target
Nearly half of the planned 100 missions have yet to take place, with one rocket engineer saying that lofty goal was ‘never possible’
China is running out of time to meet its ambitious goal for space launches in 2024, with nearly half of the planned missions yet to take place.
Jonathan McDowell, an astronomer and space historian at Harvard University, said rocket reusability – particularly the repeated use of Falcon 9’s first stages – was a major factor in the United States’ lead over China in space launches.
A Beijing-based rocket engineer, speaking on condition of anonymity, expressed little surprise at China falling short of its target. “It was never possible to complete that many [launches] in the first place,” he said.
The engineer previously worked for a state-owned space launch vehicle manufacturer and is now part of team developing a reusable rocket at a major space company.
He said China’s commercial space sector was struggling with insufficient funding, a shortage of talent and limited government support.
