China Launches Rockets From Sea in Bid to Win the Space Race

With trips to a new space station, a sample-return mission to the moon and a record number of satellite launches, China’s space program has a packed calendar. The country is planning 100 launches through the end of 2024, up more than 40% from last year, as it tries to overtake the US and become the dominant power beyond Earth.

But in a land of 1.4 billion people, these efforts face a fundamental challenge: finding a safe place to launch. Although almost all US rockets take off from coastal sites where the flight path is over water—thus reducing the risks to people and property—three of China’s launch sites are deep in the interior, forcing rockets to fly over land after takeoff. The fourth is on the coast of the southern island province of Hainan, with a half-million people living nearby.