Tag: China
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Rocket Report: North Korean rocket explosion; launch over Chinese skyline
Welcome to Edition 6.46 of the Rocket Report! It looks like we will be covering the crew test flight of Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft and the fourth test flight of SpaceX’s giant Starship rocket over the next week. All of this is happening as SpaceX keeps up its cadence of flying multiple Starlink missions per week.…
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Launch Roundup: North Korean launch failure, Starliner CFT, EarthCARE
As May transitions into June, a European Space Agency (ESA) mission to study the Earth’s clouds and aerosols as well as a Russian cargo ship to resupply the International Space Station (ISS) were both on this week’s docket of launches. Two Starlink and three Chinese satellite launch missions were also scheduled, as well as the…
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Launch Roundup: 100th launch of the year, Starliner delays, NASA’s PREFIRE-1 mission
There are two launches from China to start this week, the first of which will be the 95th launch attempt of the year worldwide. If all goes to plan, this week should see the 100th launch of 2024, although the schedule is rather fluid at present. SpaceX has already passed 50 launches this year and…
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Rocket Report: Astroscale chases down dead rocket; Ariane 6 on the pad
Welcome to Edition 6.42 of the Rocket Report! Several major missions are set for launch in the next few months. These include the first crew flight on Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, set for liftoff on May 6, and the next test flight of SpaceX’s Starship rocket, which could happen before the end of May. Perhaps as…
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Launch Roundup: China returns to the moon, SpaceX keeps up high launch cadence
This week, China returns to the Moon with the Chang’e-6 mission, making the first-ever attempt to collect samples from a site on the far side, near the lunar South Pole. SpaceX keeps up its high cadence with the launch of the long-delayed WorldView Legion satellites from Space Launch Complex 4E (SLC-4E) at the Vandenberg Space…
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China Roundup: ZhuQue-3 moves left, Tianlong-3 gets engines, and Chang Zheng rockets launch
China’s upcoming and already operational startup aerospace companies are showing significant progress as of late. Both Tianlong-3 and ZhuQue-3 (ZQ-3) are getting closer to flight, while governmental rockets currently carry the payloads. Additionally, three more rockets of the Chang Zheng family have been launched in the last few weeks. LandSpace progresses ZhuQue-3 and moves maiden…
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Launch Roundup: SpaceX continues high cadence
After SpaceX achieved a record-breaking 12 Falcon 9 launches in March, the company continued this cadence during the first week of April. Missions this week included a Starlink flight, a mystery-shrouded launch from China, then another three Falcon 9’s toward the end of the week — two more Starlinks and the first of a series…
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China Roundup: Chinese Moon plans, commercial company updates, and Wenchang commercial pad
China provided several updates to its lunar exploration plans, while private companies like LandSpace and Space Pioneer are also getting closer to milestones. Meanwhile, the commercial complex in Wenchang is getting ready to host private Chinese rockets. China details lunar exploration further In a recent presentation, China detailed its lunar exploration plan for the near…
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Launch Roundup: Delta IV Heavy swan song, Falcon 9 and Soyuz launches on tap for last week of March
A trio of Falcon 9 Starlink launches, a Falcon 9 non-Starlink launch involving an Eutelsat communications satellite, a Chinese launch, and a Russian Soyuz launch with a Resurs Earth observation satellite were scheduled for this week. However, the launch that will likely get the most attention is the final launch ever of a Delta family…
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Rocket Report: Starship could fly again in May; Ariane 6 coming together
Welcome to Edition 6.36 of the Rocket Report! SpaceX wants to launch the next Starship test flight as soon as early May, the company’s president and chief operating officer said this week. The third Starship test flight last week went well enough that the Federal Aviation Administration—yes, the FAA, the target of many SpaceX fans’…