* Astronomy

China develops sea launches to boost space commerce

China has a clear plan to provide sea launches for commercial payloads to be carried by Long March rockets, according to an aerospace official.
Tang Yagang, vice head of the aerospace division of the No.1 institute of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASTC), said that the technology is not difficult and a sea launch platform can be built based on modifying 10,000-tonne freighters. 
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