Tag: CAST
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China Accelerates Launch of Backup Shenzhou Spacecraft After Damage to Docked Capsule
China is preparing to launch its next Shenzhou spacecraft to the Tiangong space station ahead of schedule after damage to a docked return capsule disrupted routine crew operations, state broadcaster CCTV reported on Saturday. The Shenzhou-22 spacecraft—originally planned for launch in mid-2026—will now be sent uncrewed roughly six months early to restore an emergency return…
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China Conducts Ninth Orbital Launch of May, Deploying Secretive Shijian-26 Satellite
China successfully launched its ninth orbital mission of the month early Thursday, sending the experimental Shijian-26 spacecraft into orbit aboard a Long March 4B rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China. The rocket lifted off at 12:12 a.m. Eastern (0412 UTC) May 29, with insulation tiles visibly shedding from the payload fairing…
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China Conducts Ninth Orbital Launch of May, Deploying Secretive Shijian-26 Satellite
China successfully launched its ninth orbital mission of the month early Thursday, sending the experimental Shijian-26 spacecraft into orbit aboard a Long March 4B rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China. The rocket lifted off at 12:12 a.m. Eastern (0412 UTC) May 29, with insulation tiles visibly shedding from the payload fairing…
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China Boosts Space Activity with Long March 7A and Ceres-1 Sea Launches
China has intensified its space launch schedule with two recent missions, deploying a Long March 7A rocket to geosynchronous orbit and a Ceres-1 solid rocket from a sea platform into low Earth orbit, marking the country’s 28th and 29th orbital launch attempts this year. A Long March 7A lifted off from the Wenchang Satellite Launch…
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Chinese Long March rocket launches oceanography satellite
A Long March 4B rocket takes off with China’s Haiyang 2D oceanography satellite. Credit: Xinhua A Long March 4B rocket successfully launched an oceanography satellite Wednesday from northwestern China, hours before officials at a different spaceport scrubbed the planned launch of a cargo ship to deliver supplies to the Chinese space station. China’s unpiloted Tianzhou…
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China launches environmental monitoring satellites
A Long March 4B rocket lifts off Sunday with two Chinese environmental monitoring satellites. Credit: Xinhua Without any public warning, a Chinese Long March 4B rocket lifted off Sunday with two “environmental monitoring satellites” that the country’s state media said will replace a pair of spacecraft launched in 2008 that collected data to assist in a…
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China launches Haiyang oceanography satellite
A Long March 4B rocket lifts off Sept. 21 from the Jiuquan launch base in northwestern China. Credit: Xinhua A Chinese oceanography satellite designed to measure wave height and winds launched Monday aboard a Long March 4B rocket equipped with grid fins to help control the first stage’s descent back to Earth, an improvement aimed…
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High-throughput communications satellite launched from China
A Long March 3B rocket lifts off Thursday from the Xichang space launch facility with the Apstar 6D communications satellite. Credit: Xinhua A high-power broadband communications satellite designed to provide Internet access to airliner passengers, cruise ships, fishing vessels, and other mobile users successfully launched Thursday aboard a Chinese Long March 3B rocket. The 12,235-pound (5,550-kilogram)…
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Chinese rocket fails during launch of Indonesian communications satellite
The Palapa-N1 communications satellite during pre-launch testing. Credit: PSN A Long March 3B rocket malfunctioned during the launch of an Indonesian communications satellite Thursday, leading to sightings of fiery debris in the skies over Guam. Xinhua, China’s state-run news agency, said the Long March 3B launcher failed after lifting off from the Xichang space center…
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Two more satellites launched into China’s Beidou navigation fleet
A Long March 3B rocket lifted off at 2110 GMT Sunday (5:10 p.m. EDT), or 5:10 a.m. Beijing time Monday, with two more Beidou navigation satellites. Credit: Xinhua China added two more satellites to the country’s Beidou navigation fleet — an analog to the U.S. military’s GPS network — with a successful Long March 3B…