Tag: China
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Rocket Report: Starbase comes alive again; China launches four times
Welcome to Edition 6.04 of the Rocket Report! SpaceX has a Super Heavy booster on the launch pad in Texas a lot sooner than many thought. There was some pretty extensive damage at the launch site in the aftermath of the Starship test launch in April, but SpaceX made quick work with repairs and upgrades…
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China details next generation crew launcher; Venezuela joins the Lunar base
China’s impressive launch cadence took a break in July 2023 with only three launches from Chinese pads in the month, with one being the high-profile second flight of ZhuQue-2. Additionally, China announced new rockets and launched Starlink-equivalent test satellites. Chang Zheng 2C/YZ-1S | 2 x SatNet test satellites Chang Zheng 2C (CZ-2C) took flight at…
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Launch Roundup: Rocket Lab conducts Electron reuse attempt, SpaceX flies two Starlink v2 missions
The week of July 16 through July 23 saw four more launches take place around the world, potentially increasing the orbital launch count to 108 so far in 2023. This included Rocket Lab’s launch of the “Baby Come Back” mission (which featured a first stage recovery attempt), two more SpaceX Starlink v2 missions, and the…
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Rocket Report: Rocket Lab’s next step in reuse, Blue Origin engine explodes
Welcome to Edition 6.02 of the Rocket Report! I’m on my third week at Ars, and the space beat is as busy as ever. Going forward, Eric and I will alternate work on the Rocket Report every other week. SpaceX broke its own booster reuse record this week, and a Chinese company made history with…
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Launch Roundup: SpaceX finishes Starlink v1 flights – China launches methane powered ZQ-2
This week, LandSpace reached orbit on its second test flight of the ZhuQue-2 rocket; SpaceX launched the final v1.0/v1.5 Starlink satellites on Starlink Group 5-15; and India launched the Chandrayaan-3 lunar exploration mission atop their Launch Vehicle Mark 3 rocket. These launches will mark the 102nd through 104th orbital launches of 2023. If the launch…
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Chinese company wins race for first methane-fueled rocket to orbit
A commercial Chinese firm named LandSpace launched its Zhuque-2 rocket late Tuesday and made history as the first company to send a methane-fueled launcher into orbit, beating a bevy of US vehicles to the milestone. LandSpace launched the Zhuque-2 rocket at 9 pm ET Tuesday (01:00 UTC Wednesday) from the Jiuquan spaceport, a military-run facility…
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China outlines ambitious plans for Moon landing; ZhuQue-2 prepares to launch again
Over the last few weeks, China has remained busy with both launching rockets and announcing news, as the country outlined its ambitious plans for its upcoming Lunar program, in which they hope to land a taikonaut on the surface of the Moon by 2030. What’s more, China launched a rideshare mission on an all-solid rocket…
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Live coverage: Three Chinese astronauts return to Earth
Live coverage of China’s Shenzhou 15 mission, a six-month expedition to the Chinese space station. Text updates will appear automatically below. Follow us on Twitter. [tabby title=”CCTV Live Landing Coverage”] [tabby title=”CCTV Undocking Replay”] [tabbyending]
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Shenzhou crew capsule brings home three Chinese astronauts
The Shenzhou 15 spacecraft descends toward landing under its main parachute. Credit: CCTV Three Chinese astronauts departed the Tiangong space station Saturday and landed in the remote Gobi Desert of northwestern China, capping a six-month expedition that included four spacewalks and a host of experiments in the microgravity environment of low Earth orbit. The three-man…
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Chinese astronaut launch breaks record for most people in orbit
A Long March 2F rocket climbs through the sky after lifting off from the Jiuquan launch base with the Shenzhou 16 astronauts. Credit: China Manned Space Agency The launch of the next crew to China’s Tiangong space station late Monday (U.S. time) added three astronauts to the population of humans in space, which reached a…