China now launches more rockets than anyone in the world

Enlarge / The 49th Beidou navigation satellite was successfully launched by a Long March 3b carrier rocket from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China on November 5, 2019. (credit: Costfoto / Barcroft Media via Getty Images)

In recent weeks, China's space program has made news by revealing some of its long-term ambitions for spaceflight. These include establishing an Earth-Moon space economic zone by 2050, which, if successful, could allow the country to begin to dictate the rules of behavior for future space exploration.

Some have questioned whether China, which has flown six human spaceflights in the last 16 years, can really build a large low-Earth space station, send taikonauts to the Moon, return samples from Mars, and more in the coming decade or two. But what seems clear is that the country's authoritarian government has long-term plans and is taking steps toward becoming a global leader in space exploration.

By one important metric-orbital launches-China has already reached this goal.

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