Tag: China
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APStar, Yaogan, and Shiyan payloads lift off from China
China has launched two more missions to orbit, bringing its launch count in January to four launches already. First, a Chang Zheng 2C launched from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center (XSLC) on Thursday at 18:10 UTC, carrying APStar-6E. On Friday, a Chang Zheng 2D was launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center (JSLC), carrying the…
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China kicks off 2023 campaign with launch doubleheader
With two launches now under its belt, China joins the US as the second nation to have launched to orbit in 2023. First, the Shijian 23 payload lifted off at 22:00 UTC on Sunday onboard a Chang Zheng 7A from Wenchang. Just seven hours later, Gushenxing-1 carried the “Give Me Five” rideshare mission to orbit…
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China to launch new station modules and collaborate with Europe on science missions in 2023
With launch numbers 63 and 64 just before the end of this year, China finishes its most successful spaceflight year yet. Another Gaofen-11 launched from Taiyuan on a Chang Zheng 4B on Dec. 27 at 07:37 UTC, before the year was closed with the Shiyan 10-02 payload aboard a Chang Zheng 3B on Dec. 29…
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China completes doubleheader week from Xichang
Another busy week of rocket launches in China has come to a close. On Wednesday, the Yaogan 36 mission launched on a Chang Zheng 2D from Xichang, and on Friday, the launch of Shiyan 21 atop a Chang Zheng 11 rocket was conducted from the same spaceport. In total, four launches were conducted from China…
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Chinese Zhuque-2 fails during first methalox orbital launch attempt
The first attempt to launch an orbital methane rocket was not successful. China’s LandSpace launched the Zhuque-2 rocket at around 08:30 UTC to a Sun-synchronous orbit (SSO) from Jiuquan. The rocket failed to reach the desired orbit, falling short of orbital velocity by about 2 km/s. From videos posted on Chinese social media, it seems…
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China’s busy year continues with four launches in six days
With Monday’s launch of the Shiyan-20A satellite aboard a Chang Zheng 4C rocket, China has rounded out a busy few days which have seen four orbital launches – including the debut of one new rocket and the first successful flight of another. With just under three weeks remaining, 2022 has already been a record year…
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China debuts Jielong-3 rocket from Yellow Sea
China successfully debuted the Jielong-3 orbital rocket from the Tai Rui Barge in the Yellow Sea. Liftoff happened at 06:35 UTC, and the success of the mission was confirmed a bit later. The payload for this mission was a rideshare of 14 satellites. Eight of the rideshare payloads were Jilin Gaofen (“high resolution”) satellites, seven…
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China launches two missions from Jiuquan in under 30 hours
In just under 30 hours, China launched two rockets with six satellites to their respective orbits. The first launch was a Chang Zheng 4C (CZ-4C) with the Yaogan 34-03 (Yaogan-34C) government remote sensing satellite on Nov. 15 at 01:38 UTC from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center (JSLC) at Site 43/94. It was followed by the Ceres-1…
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China launches two times in four hours and brings cargo to the TSS
China successfully launched the Tianzhou-5 mission to the Tiangong Space Station for cargo resupply. The mission launched at 02:03 UTC on Friday, Nov. 11 on a Chang Zheng 7 (Long March 7 in English) and docked at the Tiangong Space Station (TSS) at 04:10 UTC. The launch was conducted from the Wenchang Satellite Launch Center,…
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China launches Zhongxing-19 mission from Xichang
China successfully launched the Zhongxing-19 mission on a Chang Zheng 3B/E rocket today. The rocket took off at 11:50 UTC from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in China and launched into geostationary transfer orbit (GTO). This launch is a replacement payload for the previously malfunctioned Zhongxing-18 satellite, which was initially launched on the same rocket…