Huanqiu.com reported on Oct. 18 that projects billed as ‘world firsts’ or ‘industry firsts’ followed one another in aerospace, energy and transport, from a rocket launch to computing satellites, a large petrochemical plant and bridge closures.
According to Huanqiu.com and other mainland outlets on Oct. 18, China logged a string of milestones over the past week in aerospace, energy and chemicals, and railway and bridge construction. The reports grouped them under labels such as ‘world first’ and ‘industry first’. Those descriptions come from Chinese media and the project operators themselves, and should be read with that in mind.
광고 문의 · 300×250The most eye-catching came from commercial space. On Oct. 14 a Zhuque-2 improved-variant launch vehicle lifted off from the Dongfeng commercial space innovation zone and placed 10 satellites in their planned orbits. The reports say the payload included Guoxing Aerospace’s ‘Star Era’ series and the Guangchuan-03 and -04 satellites, used to test technologies for space-based computing and satellite internet.
Computing Moves Into Orbit
Two satellites of the first batch of the ‘Pazhou space intelligent computing constellation’ flew on the same launch. The reports say they are designed for round-the-clock, seven-day orbital operation and aim for ‘industry firsts’ in inter-satellite laser links, satellite-ground communication and distributed large-model computing across satellites. Actual performance remains to be shown in operation.
Also on Oct. 14, eight satellites of the ‘Xingsuan’ program’s second group entered orbit from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. Chinese media described it as a key step in the large-scale deployment of space computing infrastructure led by a commercial space company, and called it the ‘world’s first space computing constellation’. The coverage offered no direct comparison with similar plans elsewhere.
Energy and Transport Infrastructure
In energy, the Dushanzi Petrochemical Tarim 1.2-million-tonne ethylene project in Korla, Xinjiang, entered full commercial operation on Oct. 15. Reports call it China’s first full-chain green, low-carbon ethylene project, absorbing about 1 billion kWh of green power a year and producing 900,000 tonnes of polyethylene, filling a gap in high-end polyolefin and synthetic rubber materials in southern Xinjiang.
On the transport side, the Chizhou Yangtze River rail-road bridge in Anhui closed its main span on Oct. 15, essentially completing the main structure. Once open it will be Anhui’s sixth rail-road bridge across the Yangtze. The same day, the Nameng Chengbi River bridge on the Huangbai Railway, a flagship project of the New Western Land-Sea Corridor, completed its continuous-girder closure, as did the Miaojialiang bridge on the Xiyu high-speed railway on Oct. 12.
The list shows China advancing commercial space, green energy and chemicals, and western rail links at once. The criteria behind each ‘first’ and the economics of the projects, however, rest on the outlets’ own descriptions, with no independent verification in the coverage. Operating results in the coming months should make the picture clearer.
