Tag: CAS Space
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China Debuts Two Commercial Launchers, Tests Orbital Servicing
What are China’s latest commercial space milestones in April 2026? China’s commercial space sector achieved two major launcher debuts within days of each other in early April 2026, with CAS Space and Space Pioneer both conducting successful inaugural flights of new vehicles. CAS Space’s Kinetica-1 solid rocket delivered multiple payloads to Low Earth Orbit (LEO)…
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China debuts new launchers, tests orbital servicing and outlines future deep-space missions
CAS Space and Space Pioneer have both debuted new Chinese commercial launchers within days of each other, with more set to follow. Meanwhile, China conducted its first commercial demonstration of a robotic arm designed for in-space refueling, and outlined plans for future deep-space missions, including an asteroid redirection test and updated details of its crewed…
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Launch Preview: SLS, Falcon 9, Atlas V, and Soyuz launches comprise busy launch manifest
Nine launches are scheduled this week, with rockets expected to liftoff from Florida, California, Russia, Kazakhstan, and China. Most notably, NASA’s long-awaited Artemis II mission is scheduled to launch the first humans to the Moon in over 50 years on Wednesday. SpaceX has four Starlink missions scheduled for the week, with Falcon 9 launching two…
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Launch Preview: Russia to debut Soyuz-5; Falcon 9 and Atlas V to launch internet satellites
The United States, Russia, China, New Zealand, and Norway are all set to host launches during another busy week of spaceflight. SpaceX is set to launch three missions from its Florida and California launch facilities, while the United Launch Alliance is scheduled to launch Amazon Leo satellites on its Atlas V rocket toward the end…
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CAS Space Tests Suborbital Vehicle for Space Tourism and Microgravity Research
Chinese commercial aerospace firm CAS Space has completed a successful test flight of its Lihun-1 Y1 suborbital vehicle, a step toward developing space tourism and commercial microgravity applications, according to a report by Xinhua. The test flight saw the capsule reach a maximum altitude of 120 kilometres before returning safely to the Jiuquan launch site…
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Surge in static fires as China’s space sector gains momentum
As China’s launch cadence continues to accelerate, so too has the pace of engine testing in recent weeks. A growing number of commercial launch providers are edging closer to the maiden flights of new vehicles — several of which are still on track to debut before the end of the year. Meanwhile, taikonauts aboard the…
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China accelerates toward lunar goals as reusability programs gain momentum
China has conducted two spacewalks from its Tiangong space station in as many months and is advancing on its lunar exploration plans with a successful pad abort test of its crewed Mengzhou capsule. Meanwhile, an experimental spacecraft has made advances in in-space refueling. Meanwhile, the next generation of reusable Chinese commercial rockets, many of which…
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Zhongke-1A makes a successful debut from Jiuquan
The CAS Space Zhongke-1A, an all-solid four-stage small to medium-lift launch vehicle, made its first-ever launch at 04:12 UTC on Wednesday, July 27. The rocket successfully flew from Jiuquan in the remote Inner Mongolia desert region of northwest China. CAS Space, also known as Zhongke Aerospace, is a spinoff company partially owned by the Chinese…