On the afternoon of Jan. 9, 2024, China launched a rocket carrying a low-orbit satellite, triggering a national emergency alert in Taiwan that shocked people around the country.
The cause of Taiwan's alarm was a rocket launching a low-orbit satellite, a process similar to missile launches, which also depend on rockets to propel them into space.
Different kinds of low-orbit satellites bearing long, rectangular solar panels fly in outer space every day, sent there not only by China but by the world’s biggest active satellite player, Elon Musk’s SpaceX.
As we gaze up at space, a global satellite war has quietly unfolded…..
The U.S.-China Battle for Space
Should Low-orbit Satellites Worry Taiwan?
Four days before Taiwan’s presidential election, a national alert sounded the alarm on China-Taiwan relations and a looming battle between Beijing and Washington. What are low-orbit satellites and how do they matter to Taiwan?