Tag: China
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Russian Space Activity Forces U.S. Air Force C-17 to Turn Back From Antarctica
A U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III bound for Antarctica turned around over the Southern Ocean on Aug. 18 after aviation authorities warned of potentially hazardous Russian space activity and possible debris. The incident highlights a growing operational problem for both military and commercial aviation: activity in space can increasingly create hazards hundreds of thousands…
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SpaceX Reaches 100th Mission of 2026 as Starlink Launch Highlights a New Era of High-Frequency Spaceflight
SpaceX has completed its 100th mission of 2026, reaching the milestone on Aug. 19 with another Starlink deployment from California. The mission, Starlink Group 17-50, sent 24 Starlink broadband satellites toward low Earth orbit aboard a flight-proven Falcon 9, underscoring how rapidly SpaceX has transformed orbital launch from an occasional event into a high-frequency operational…
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From Building Rockets to Mass-Producing Them, China’s Commercial Space Industry Is Catching Up on Digitalization
In the first half of 2026, China completed 44 space launches, up nearly 26% year on year. Rockets are moving from “a few launches a year” toward high-frequency launch operations, making large-scale production an increasingly urgent priority. And as the industry moves from building individual rockets to mass-producing them, China’s commercial space sector is now…
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Rwanda and Planet Labs Launch National Satellite Data Program for Government, Universities and Startups
The Government of Rwanda has partnered with Planet Labs to establish a national satellite data program that will provide near-daily Earth observation imagery to government agencies, public universities, selected startups and strategic development partners. Managed by the Rwanda Space Agency, the program is designed to make satellite imagery a more routine component of national decision-making,…
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China Achieves First Land-Based Recovery of an Orbital-Class Rocket Booster as Zhuque-3 Returns Upright
Source: LandSpace Technology Corporation Ltd. China has successfully completed its first land-based recovery of an orbital-class launch vehicle first stage using powered vertical landing and landing legs, marking a major milestone in the country’s reusable launch vehicle development. At 7:35 a.m. Beijing time on August 19, Zhuque-3 Y2, a reusable launch vehicle developed by LandSpace…
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From Carbon Emissions to Carbon Sinks: How Satellites Support Carbon Monitoring
As the world continues to pursue net-zero targets, carbon data is becoming an increasingly important foundation for climate governance, corporate emissions reduction, and ecosystem management. Countries need to quantify and assess greenhouse gas emissions more accurately. Companies need an ongoing understanding of emissions changes across their operations and associated facilities. Carbon markets and carbon projects…
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Commercial Space 2.0: Where Are the Opportunities for China’s Second-Generation Rocket Companies?
China’s commercial rocket industry officially began to take shape in 2015, when three government ministries jointly issued guidelines encouraging its development. Looking back from where the industry stands today, it took a decade for China to largely complete its policy framework and develop a basic supply chain. That period also saw the arrival of market…
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China’s New Space Contest Will Be Fought With Commercial Satellites
Over the past decade, the commercial space industry has transformed satellites from assets reserved for national-level missions into industrial products that can be mass-produced and deployed on demand. As thousands of low-Earth-orbit broadband, remote-sensing and navigation satellites form constellations, space is taking on the characteristics of infrastructure for the first time—continuously providing connectivity, observation and…
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Deep Blue Aerospace Partners with AME Aviation to Build a Smart Manufacturing Foundation for Reusable Rockets
In August 2026, Jiangsu Deep Blue Aerospace Co., Ltd. and Hangzhou AME Aviation Manufacturing Equipment Co., Ltd. formally signed a strategic cooperation agreement at AME Aviation’s industrial park in Hangzhou. The cross-sector partnership brings together one of China’s leading developers of reusable liquid-fueled rockets and a specialized innovator in intelligent aerospace manufacturing. The two companies…
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China Successfully Launches SEO Satellite in 664th Long March Rocket Mission
China successfully launched an SEO satellite aboard a Long March-2C carrier rocket from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center at 11:02 a.m. on August 17. The satellite entered its designated orbit, marking the successful completion of the mission. The launch marked the 664th flight of China’s Long March carrier rocket series. It came just seven days…