Tag: China
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China’s Commercial Ground Stations in 2026: The Tracking and Control Networks Behind More Than 100 Sites
Once a satellite reaches orbit, ground stations become essential to its long-term operation. Tracking, telemetry, command uplinks and data downlinks all depend on this infrastructure. As low Earth orbit constellations expand, the ground segment is shifting from a handful of stations supporting an individual satellite to integrated networks serving entire constellations. Drawing on publicly available…
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Constellation Routing: Why Satellite Networks Need a Navigation App
“With lasers connecting satellites and ground stations providing access, isn’t the network already connected?” The reality is more complicated. Low Earth orbit satellites travel at more than 7 kilometers per second, while connections change, switch or become unavailable. A data packet moving through dozens of satellites and ground stations must find a route that works…
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From Sending Data to Delivering Answers: How AI Lets Satellites Process Observations in Orbit
A wildfire breaks out, and a satellite hundreds of kilometers above Earth captures a clear view of the blaze. Under the conventional workflow, the imagery must wait for a ground-station contact window, be downloaded and processed at a data center, and finally reach the incident commander. That process can take days. By then, the fire…
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China’s satellite internet links Arctic, Antarctica, Qinghai-Tibet Plateau for first time
BEIJING, Oct. 19 (Xinhua) — China’s 16th Arctic Ocean expedition team said Monday that its polar icebreaker Jidi had completed a pre-operational application test of domestically developed satellite internet along Arctic shipping routes. The voyage marked the first successful verification of networked communications across the Arctic, Antarctica and the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, also known as the…
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Cloud-Native Computing Goes to Space: Do Satellites Need Docker?
Software-defined satellites and in-orbit upgrades are taking spacecraft operations toward a broader idea: managing satellites like servers in a data center. That means container orchestration, incremental updates and even running a 5G core network on an onboard server. It may sound ambitious, but Chinese in-orbit experiments are already exploring these capabilities. Why Software Needs Standard…
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Zhuque 2E Launches 10 Satellites on Zhuque 2 Series’ 10th Flight (Video)
LandSpace launched its Zhuque-2E Y4 rocket from the Dongfeng Commercial Space Innovation Pilot Zone at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center at 11:40 UTC on October 14, 2026, deploying 10 satellites into their planned orbits. The rideshare mission carried eight ADA Space computing satellites and two laser data-transmission test satellites, marking the 10th flight of the…
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New Computing Satellites Reach Orbit. Is Thermal Control the Next Major Opportunity—and Challenge?
From chip hotspots to continuous heat rejection, how computing workloads are changing satellite thermal requirements. On October 14, 2026, a Zhuque-2E Y4 launch vehicle placed 10 satellites into their intended orbits. Eight belong to Group 02 of Adaspace’s Xingsuan space-computing program.[1][2] According to company information reported by People’s Daily Online, the satellites will test computing…
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China’s New Policy Opens the Way for Aerospace Institute Engineers to Join Commercial Space Companies
A commentary on Part VI of the CPC Central Committee and State Council’s Opinions on Developing New Quality Productive Forces On October 9, Xinhua published the Opinions on Developing New Quality Productive Forces, issued by the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council. It is a lengthy document, but for anyone working…
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iSpace Begins Preliminary Studies for 100-Tonne-Class Heavy-Lift Rocket
Chinese private launch company iSpace has announced the start of preliminary studies for its Hyperbola-9 (SQX-9) heavy-lift rocket. The proposed vehicle targets a payload capacity in the 100-tonne class to low Earth orbit (LEO), with a first stage powered by 33 liquid oxygen–methane engines, each in the 300-tonne-thrust class. It is intended to support crewed…
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China’s State-Owned Space Company Expands Global Markets
As China marks the 70th anniversary of its space program in 2026, China Great Wall Industry Corporation (CGWIC) is expanding its international business from commercial launches to integrated space systems and services. Established in 1980, the company serves as the specialist international business arm of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), supporting national strategic…