
China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) has approved Geely-backed Zhejiang Geespace Technology to conduct a two-year commercial satellite Internet of Things (satellite IoT) trial, making it the first privately owned Chinese company authorized to advance such services and signaling a further opening of China's satellite communications market to private-sector players.
Chinese commercial space startup LandSpace successfully launched its Zhuque-3 Y2 carrier rocket on August 19 from the Dongfeng Commercial Space Innovation Pilot Zone (part of the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center), placing Hongqing Technology's independently developed Honghu-03 satellite into its designated orbit. The rocket's first stage then completed a soft landing at a recovery site in Minqin County, Gansu, marking a successful mission.
SpaceX launched two Falcon 9 rockets 38 minutes apart on the evening of August 15, setting a new company record for the shortest interval between orbital launches. The missions lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida and Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, highlighting the company's ability to move quickly across two launch sites.
The expansion of Mitsubishi Electric's satellite manufacturing business is converging with the higher launch cadence targeted for Japan's H3 program, developed jointly by JAXA and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI).


