At 3am tomorrow morning a Russian Soyuz rocket is set to streak into the skies over Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan carrying a satellite that is purpose built to break one of the most ubiquitous monopolies on Earth.

• 12月28日凌晨3点，俄罗斯的梭育兹火箭准备在哈萨克的白耳寇努太空中心上方划出一条白线，它携带著一颗卫星，用来冲破全球最普遍存在的一项垄断。