On 9 September 2025, a Smart Dragon-3 rocket roared to life off the coast of Rizhao City, in eastern China's Shandong Province, carrying 11 Geely-05 satellites into orbit. Conducted from a maritime platform by the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Centre, the mission marked the seventh successful flight of the Smart Dragon-3 and another step forward in China's quest to fuse commercial innovation with national space ambitions. Behind the technical achievement lies a deeper story: the growing convergence of China's private sector and state-led space strategy, and the ways in which satellite networks are set to redefine both the commercial and geopolitical landscape.

The Geely-05 satellites are part of an ambitious constellation developed by GeeSpace, a subsidiary of Geely Technology Group. Known glo

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