Details have emerged on the key distinctions between China’s recent internet satellite launch and SpaceX’s constellation.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX currently dominates the satellite launch market thanks to its workhorse Falcon 9 rocket. The company’s Starlink internet satellites, meanwhile, account for almost 60 percent of all satellites orbiting Earth.

A group of satellites lifted off aboard a Long March-5B rocket coupled with the Yuanzheng-2 upper stage from southern China’s Wenchang spaceport at 6pm and later reached their designated low-Earth orbit, according to state news agency Xinhua.

China launched the third batch of satellites for its low Earth orbit (LEO) internet project, Qianfan, also known as "Thousand Sails." The

The EU has finalized plans to build a €10.6 billion ($11.1 billion) satellite network that will provide high-speed internet to remote locations.

The European Union is committing to build a EUR10.6 billion (approx. US$11.13 billion) constellation of satellites that will provide the bloc with encrypted global internet connectivity in a bid to provide a homegrown alternative to Elon Musk's Starlink.

The EU's flagship satellite constellation project officially took off Monday, as the bloc signed a concession contract with a European consortium to develop a secure space-based communication system.