China’s Geely Holding Group has successfully sent nine satellites into low earth orbit.
Geely launched the satellites in a bid to build out a satellite network for more accurate navigation for autonomous vehicles.
The GeeSAT-1 satellites were launched from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in the southwestern province of Sichuan.
Geely is looking to have launched another 63 in orbit by 2025 and eventually plans to have a constellation of 240.
With the launch, Geely becomes the second major automaker to have an allied space business after SpaceX.
SpaceX is owned by Tesla Inc Chief Executive Elon Musk and has more than 2,000 satellites in orbit for its Starlink network that offers commercial internet services.
In addition to providing high-precision positioning support to self-driving cars, Geely said its network will also serve other commercial functions such as providing communication services at the Asian Games in September.
The satellites have an operating lifespan of five years and will disintegrate in earth’s atmosphere without leaving any space debris.
