Tag: China
-
China launches Earth-observing satellites, solar sail experiment
A Long March 4B rocket lifted off Thursday from the Taiyuan space center in China. Credit: CCTV Two Earth-imaging satellites and an experimental solar sail payload rocketed into orbit Thursday aboard a Chinese Long March 4B launcher, the first flight for China’s Long March 4 rocket family since an upper stage failure in May. The…
-
Two satellites launch aboard Chinese Kuaizhou 1A rocket
Two experimental Chinese satellites have launched on a Kuaizhou 1A rocket from the Jiuquan space base in northwestern China. The Kuaizhou 1A light-class launcher lifted off at 2341 GMT (7:41 p.m. EDT) on Aug. 30 from Jiuquan, according to the state-run Xinhua news agency. Two small satellites were aboard the Kuaizhou 1A rocket — one…
-
Kuaizhou-1A lofts two satellites for China
The Chinese launched two new small satellites from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in a mission managed by the Expace company. The launch took place at 23:41UTC on Friday, using the Kuaizhou-1A (Y10) rocket. Onboard the solid fuelled launch vehicle was the KX-09 and the Xiaoxiang 1-07 satellites. Developed by the DFH Satellite Co., the…
-
Chinasat 18 communications satellite encounters problem after launch
File photo of a previous Long March 3B rocket launch. Credit: Xinhua A communications satellite designed to deliver broadband services to rural China, airline passengers and maritime vessels suffered “abnormalities” after separating from its Long March 3B launcher Monday, Chinese state media confirmed Tuesday. The Chinasat 18 communications satellite lifted off at 1203 GMT (8:03…
-
China’s Jielong 1 smallsat launcher successful on first flight
The first flight of the Chinese Jielong 1 rocket lifted off from the Jiuquan space center in northwestern China at 0411 GMT (12:11 a.m. EDT) Saturday. Credit: Xinhua A solid-fueled small satellite launcher named Jielong 1 fired into orbit Saturday on its first flight from northwestern China, debuting a new rocket developed by a spinoff…
-
China launches three military satellites, tests new rocket steering fins
A Long March 2C rocket lifted off at 0357 GMT Friday (11:57 p.m. EDT Thursday) with three Yaogan 30 satellites for the Chinese military. The grid fins are visible on the gray section of the rocket at the top of the first stage. Credit: Xinhua China launched a Long March 2C rocket Friday with three…
-
Long March 2C lofts Yaogan-30 Group 05 satellites
China launched the latest group of triplet satellites for the Chuangxin-5 (CX-5) constellation. Launched under the name Yaogan Weixing-30 Group-5, the three satellites were orbited by a Long March-2C launch vehicle from the LC3 Launch Complex of the Xichang Satellite Launch Center. The launch took place at 03:57 UTC. Like the previous missions on the…
-
Chinese space station testbed ends mission with controlled re-entry
A prototype space lab module for China’s planned space station re-entered the atmosphere over the South Pacific Ocean Friday to end a nearly three-year mission that included a visit from Chinese astronauts and an in-orbit refueling demonstration. The 34.1-foot-long (10.4-meter) Tiangong 2 module plunged into Earth’s atmosphere at 1306 GMT (9:06 a.m. EDT) Friday…
-
China set to deorbit disused Tiangong 2 space lab
This view of the Tiangong 2 and Shenzhou 11 docked complex was captured Oct. 23, 2016, and downlinked to Earth on Tuesday by the Banxing 2 microsatellite. In this photo, Shenzhou 11 is at the top of the image, and Tiangong 2 is at the bottom of the frame. Credit: CCTV China’s Tiangong 2 space…
-
The moon in 2069: Top space scientists share their visions for lunar lifestyles
The European Space Agency’s vision for lunar settlement includes habitats shielded by piled-up moon dirt. (ESA / Foster + Partners Illustration) LAUSANNE, Switzerland — Fifty years ago this month, NASA’s Apollo 11 mission transformed the idea of putting people on the moon from science fiction to historical fact. Not much has changed on the moon…