Alibaba agreed to deliver packages on missiles

At the end of March 2024, it became known that the online platform Taobao, part of the Alibaba Group, plans to send parcels to customers around the world using reusable missiles. For this, the media of the startup Space Epoch will be used.

The project provides for the development of a rocket that is capable of carrying up to ten tons of cargo on board in a container with a volume of 120 cubic meters. Its basis will be the Yuanxing-1 carrier from Space Epoch. In 2023, the company successfully tested the engine for this rocket.

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According to Taobao, the company will be able to use missiles for express delivery of goods around the world. The site expects that it will be possible to use one medium up to 20 times. At the same time, Taobao admits that it is unlikely that this method of delivery of goods will be possible in the short term. As of the end of March 2024, tests and tests of individual elements of the rocket are being carried out.

This should be a large and significant project in the long term, the company said in a statement.

Overall, Alibaba is improving its logistics services amid fierce competition at home and abroad. The project, in partnership with Space Epoch, is one of the options for developing delivery infrastructure. Alibaba, according to the South China Morning Post, confirmed the project, saying that "many great endeavors at first glance seem like a joke." To deliver goods through missiles, it is necessary to deploy the appropriate infrastructure.

Alibaba Group is one of China's biggest tech giants. In addition to Aliexpress, Taobao and Tmall sites, the company is developing the Alipay payment system, developing self-driving cars and artificial intelligence tools.^[1]

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