China is about to launch the first 18 satellites in its bid to compete with Elon Musk's Starlink, a constellation of low Earth orbit (LEO) internet satellites, a Chinese government-owned news agency reports.
The satellites will launch from one of China's major space mission facilities, namely, the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in the northern Shanxi province, according to Reuters. The launch was led by government-owned Shanghai Spacecom Satellite Technology company as part of its "Thousand Sails Constellation" project, which aims to create a global broadband network similar to that offered by SpaceX's Starlink.
