China just boosted its geostationary communications satellite fleet.
A Long March 7A rocket lifted off from the coastal Wenchang Satellite Launch Center on Hainan island at 7:57 a.m. EDT (1157 GMT, or 7:57 p.m. Beijing time) on June 29. The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), the country’s main space contractor, declared the mission a complete success.
The payload, called ChinaSat-3A (Zhongxing-3A), is destined for geostationary orbit22,236 miles (35,785 kilometers) above Earth. It is described briefly as a communication and broadcasting satellite, which will provide voice, data, radio and television transmission services, according to Chinese state media.
A Long March 7A rocket launches the ChinaSat-3A satellite on June 29, 2024. (Image credit: CCTV)
The satellite was designed by the China Academy of Space Technology (CAST), while the rocket was provided by the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT). Both are major CASC subsidiaries.
State-owned ChinaSat satellites provide communications for China for various purposes, including television broadcasting, telecommunications and broadband internet services. Some ChinaSat satellites are also thought to provide communications for China’s military.
Most ChinaSat satellites have launched to geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) on Long March 3B rockets from Xichang, in south-central China. The Long March 7A is more capable; it can deliver 15,000 pounds (7,000 kilograms) to GTO, compared to 12,100 pounds (5,500 kg) for the Long March 3B. The 7A may be slowly replacing the older 3B or being used to launch a ChinaSat using larger DFH satellite bus than previous missions.
The June 29 launch was China’s 30th of 2024. The country is planning around 100 launches this year, according to CASC, including approximately 30 missions conducted by commercial launch service providers.
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One of these, Space Pioneeraimed to launch its first Falcon 9-like Tianlong-3 rocket this year. However, the company suffered a disastrous, not-so-static hot fire test over the weekend, seeing an accidental launch that destroyed its intended flight hardware.
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Andrew is a freelance space journalist with a focus on reporting on China’s rapidly growing space sector. He began writing for Space.com in 2019 and writes for SpaceNews, IEEE Spectrum, National Geographic, Sky & Telescope, New Scientist and others. Andrew first caught the space bug when, as a youngster, he saw Voyager images of other worlds in our solar system for the first time. Away from space, Andrew enjoys trail running in the forests of Finland. You can follow him on Twitter@AJ_FI.
Greater China VC mega deals driven by artificial intelligence (AI) — Preqin reportsChina takes 2 of the 10 largest VC deals globallyGlobeNewswireJune 25, 2024
BEIJING, June 26, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Preqinthe global leader in alternative assets data, tools, and insights, today published its Territory Guide: Greater ChinaVenture Capital Deals report. The report shows that while foreign venture capital (VC) firms have been pulling back from investing in Chinese companies in recent years owing to higher interest rates and geopolitical tensions, Chinese domestic investors have been stepping in to fill this gap.
The report goes on to highlight that the largest rounds of funding came from China’s state-backed players, including banks, government agencies, and local authorities. They participated in around 60 of the 100 largest deals from 2021 to June 2024, twice as many as from 2017 to 2020. Chinese tech giants such as Meituan and Alibaba Group are also increasingly active.
Greater China investors accelerate domestic investments in AI, semiconductors, and clean technology
Amid higher interest rates, lack of exit pathways, and heightening geopolitical tensions between the United States and China, venture funding has taken a hit globally, but particularly in the Greater China region.* Despite these challenges, China remains home to 2 of the 10 largest VC deals globally and 8 of the 10 largest VC deals in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, according to Preqin data as of June 2024. These mega deals were predominantly in the artificial intelligence (AI), semiconductor, and clean technology verticals – all industries that the Chinese government intends to grow and support. Of these mega deals, AI was a driving force. AI VC deals in the Greater China region by May 2024 reach almost $6bn – around half of 2023’s full-year total of $12bn.
Trade tariffs, with US restrictions on US VC firms and companies, are causing foreign investors to pull back from the region, while the Chinese government supports state-backed players to step in the gap. Other domestic investors, such as tech corporations, are also heavily investing.
Valerie Kor, lead author of the report at Preqin, says,“It’s a challenging environment for venture capital in the Greater China region, as investors struggle with exiting their investments in private companies. However, as foreign investors pull back, Chinese domestic investors such as tech corporations and state-backed funds have stepped in to fill the gap, investing heavily in key verticals covering AI, semiconductors and clean technology that are aligned with China’s broader economic policies.”
Additional key findings include:
Clean technology in China sees strength: Clean technology VC deals in China overtook the US in aggregate deal value and volume in 2022 and 2023, respectively. In 2022, these deals aggregated to $12bn, surpassing that of the US at $11.6bn, and further increased 22% year-on-year to almost $15bn in 2023, double the $7bn from the US. A third are from investments in electric vehicle companies. In terms of volume, over 300 clean technology VC deals were concluded in China in 2023, more than the 200 that were in the US.
Greater China VC deal volume has significantly fallen compared to the global figure: Private companies in Greater China raised over $12bn in Q1 2024, down 42% on the previous quarter, representing a steeper drop than the global decline of 12% in the same period. The number of deals has also decreased by 20% quarter-on-quarter, double the global fall of 10%. These data trends demonstrate that amid heightening geopolitical tensions and a lack of exit pathways, venture funding has taken a hit in Greater China.
Foreign VC firms have pulled back from investing in Chinese companies: Total venture funding from foreign investors into Greater China deals contracted sharply from $67bn in 2021 to $19bn in 2023. American firms have also been absent from the largest deals in recent years, following increased scrutiny from the US government. In contrast, the flow of venture funding from Greater China investors was relatively steady, dipping 17% year-on-year from 2021 to 2022, before increasing 3% in 2023 to reach over $60bn.
Note to editors:
Currency is USD
* In this report, the Greater China region includes mainland China, Hong Kong – SAR, Macao – SAR, and Taiwan.
If you would like more information or would like to speak with the report author, please contact Mimi Celeste Taylor at [email protected]
About Preqin
Preqin, the Home of Alternatives™, empowers financial professionals who invest in or allocate to alternatives with essential data and insight to make confident decisions. It supports them throughout the entire investment lifecycle with critical information and leading analytics solutions. The company has pioneered rigorous methods of collecting private data for over 20 years, enabling more than 200,000 professionals globally to streamline how they raise capital, source deals and investments, understand performance, and stay informed. For more information visit www.preqin.com.
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A Long March 2C carrying the SVOM astrophysics satellite lifts of from Xichang, June 22, 2024. Credit: CNSA
Hausjrvi, FINLAND A Chinese launch of the joint Sino-French SVOM mission to study Gamma-ray bursts early Saturday saw toxic rocket debris fall over a populated area.
A Long March 2C rocket lifted off from Xichang Satellite Launch Center at 3:00 a.m. Eastern (0700 UTC) June 22, sending the Space Variable Objects Monitor (SVOM) mission satellite into orbit.
The launch was declared successful by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) a short time after liftoff.
Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are violent electromagnetic explosions which can release as much energy in a few seconds as the Sun will emit over its entire 10-billion-year lifetime.
SVOM is a collaboration between the China National Space Administration (CNSA) and Frances Centre national dtudes spatiales (CNES).
The mission will look for high-energy electromagnetic radiation from these events in the X-ray and gamma-ray ranges using two French and two Chinese-developed science payloads. These include the Microchannel X-ray Telescope (MXT), a narrow-field-optimized lobster eye X-ray focusing telescope.
Studying GRBs, thought to be caused by the death of massive stars or collisions between stars, could provide answers to key questions in astrophysics. This includes the death of stars and the creation of black holes.
However the launch of SVOM also created an explosion of its own closer to home.
A video posted on Chinese social media site Sina Weibo appears to show a rocket booster falling on a populated area with people running for cover.
The booster fell to Earth near Guiding County, Qiandongnan Prefecture in Guizhou province, according to another post. An airspace closure notice for the mission established a temporary danger area containing Guiding County, Guizhou.
A number of comments on the video noted the danger posed by the hypergolic propellant from the Long March rocket. Some comments on the post suggested the event was related to a failed recovery of SpaceXs Starship, while another suggested an American conspiracy.
The Long March 2C uses a toxic, hypergolic mix of nitrogen tetroxide and unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine (UDMH). Reddish-brown gas or smoke from the booster could be indicative of nitrogen tetroxide, while a yellowish gas could be caused by hydrazine fuel mixing with air.
Contact with either remaining fuel or oxidizer from the rocket stage could be very harmful to individuals.
Falling rocket debris is a common issue with China’s launches from its three inland launch sites.
Chinas first three launch sites were established during the Cold War. Sites deep inland were thus selected to provide a measure of protection amid tensions with the U.S. and Soviet Union.
Authorities are understood to issue warnings and evacuation notices for areas calculated to be at risk from launch debris, reducing the risk of injuries.
The launch of SVOM was Chinas 29th launch of the year. CASC stated China is aiming to launch around 100 times across 2024, including around 30 commercial missions.
Andrew Jones covers China’s space industry for SpaceNews. Andrew has previously lived in China and reported from major space conferences there. Based in Helsinki, Finland, he has written for National Geographic, New Scientist, Smithsonian Magazine, Sky…More by Andrew Jones
Tech billionaire and Tesla CEO Elon Musk met in Beijing on Sunday with China’s number two official, Premier Li Qiang, who promised the nation would “continuously” be originate to international corporations.
Musk — truly one of many field’s richest of us — arrived in China earlier the same day on his second day streak back and forth in decrease than a year to the field’s biggest market for electric autos.
Chinese language enlighten broadcaster CCTV stated that throughout their assembly, Li had promised the nation would invent extra to abet international corporations.
“China’s very colossal-scale market will continuously be originate to international-funded corporations,” Li was quoted as asserting.
“China will keep on with its be conscious and may perhaps perhaps presumably proceed working worthy to earn bigger market obtain entry to and gives a enhance to carrier ensures.”
Beijing would also provide international corporations with “a bigger industry ambiance” so “that corporations from in every single build the field may perhaps perhaps be pleased peace of solutions while investing in China”, Li added.
Musk has wide industry interests in China and his most most fresh seek the recommendation of with was in Might well perhaps and June of final year.
Tesla did no longer reply to AFP’s requests for confirmation of Musk’s seek the recommendation of with, or fragment his itinerary for the day streak back and forth.
CCTV quoted him as praising the “hardworking and wise Chinese language personnel” at his Tesla Gigafactory in Shanghai throughout his assembly with Li.
“Tesla is willing to attract discontinuance your next step in deepening cooperation with China to assemble extra bag-bag outcomes,” Musk reportedly added.
Earlier in the day, the billionaire met with the pinnacle of the China Council for the Promotion of World Substitute, Ren Hongbin, “to discuss next steps in cooperation and other issues”, CCTV stated.
The snappy magnate is a controversial resolve in the West, but in China, Tesla’s electric autos be pleased change steady into a staple of middle-class urban existence.
Technology tamfitronics ‘The future’
Having as soon as derided Chinese language EVs, Musk described their manufacturers this year as being “primarily the most realistic automobile corporations in the field”.
“It’s beautiful to glimpse electric autos making progress in China,” he was quoted as asserting by a enlighten-backed media outlet on Sunday.
“All autos will seemingly be electric in the end.” Musk’s be pleased firm has dawdle into bother in the field’s second-largest economy
In January, Tesla recalled bigger than 1.6 million electric autos in China to repair their steering instrument.
His arrival in China coincides with a cut-throat designate battle between corporations alive to to acquire forward in the fiercely competitive EV market.
China’s local automobile giant BYD — “Fabricate Your Aims” — beat out Tesla in final year’s fourth quarter to vary into the field’s prime vendor of EVs.
Tesla reclaimed that title in the first quarter of this year, but BYD stays firmly on prime in its home market.
His seek the recommendation of with also comes as Beijing hosts a huge auto show, which held press occasions from Thursday and opened to the public over the weekend.
Technology tamfitronics ‘Tesla’s final hope’
Feedback under posts about Musk’s arrival on the social media design Weibo were tubby of hypothesis that the famous particular person rich particular person would abet Auto China while in Beijing.
One user suggested Musk’s seek the recommendation of with was motivated by a wish to check drive an SU7, the first automobile mannequin released earlier this year by Chinese language particular person tech giant Xiaomi.
Xiaomi’s entrance into the competitive EV sector appears to be to be off to a clear originate up, with CEO Lei Jun asserting this month that pre-orders had outpaced expectations by three to five cases.
Other commenters answered to experiences that Musk’s day streak back and forth was intended to present him a probability to recount with Chinese language officers in regards to the different of bringing Tesla’s Burly Self-Riding (FSD) abilities to the local market.
“FSD is Tesla’s final hope for saving its home sales,” one Weibo user stated.
Musk’s interests in China be pleased prolonged raised eyebrows in Washington, with President Joe Biden asserting in November 2022 that his hyperlinks to international countries were “noteworthy” of scrutiny.
The rich particular person has also triggered controversy by suggesting the self-dominated island of Taiwan may perhaps perhaps presumably peaceful change into section of China — a stance that was welcomed by Chinese language officers but deeply angered Taipei.
