Tag: China
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China begins 2019 launch campaign with a success
A Long March 3B rocket lifted off Thursday from the Xichang space center carrying the Zhongxing 2D, or Chinasat 2D, communications satellite. Credit: Xinhua A Chinese communications satellite heading for geostationary orbit more than 22,000 miles over the equator lifted off Thursday from the Xichang space base in southwestern China aboard a Long March 3B…
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After media mix-up, China says Chang’e-4 makes first landing on moon’s far side
An image captured from the Chang’e-4 lander shows the Yutu 2 rover rolling onto the terrain of the lunar far side. (CLEP via Weibo / Twitter) Official Chinese media confirmed that the nation’s robotic Chang’e-4 probe made the first-ever landing on the far side of the moon — but not before issuing, and then withdrawing, an initial…
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China debuts new upper stage in final launch of the year
A Long March 2D rocket lifts off Saturday from the Jiuquan space base in northwestern China’s Inner Mongolia region. Credit: China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp. A Chinese Long March 2D booster climbed into orbit from the Jiuquan space base in the northwest of the country Saturday, delivering seven small satellites to space on communications…
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Long March 2D concludes 2018 campaign with Hongyan-1 launch
A Chinese Long March-2D/YZ-3 (Chang Zheng-2D/YZ-3) rocket has conducted the final orbital launch of 2018 when it lofted the Hongyan-1 satellite from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on Saturday. The launch took place at 08:00 UTC from the Launch Pad 94 of the LC43 Launch Complex. Hongyan-1 is the first satellite of a constellation of…
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China launches two more Long March rockets; another possible before end of year
A Long March 11 rocket lifts off Dec. 21 (Dec. 22 Chinese time). Credit: Xinhua China’s space program is sprinting toward the end of the year by extending the country’s record-breaking launch rate, with two more space missions lifting off in the last week carrying a pathfinder for a planned constellation of Internet satellites and…
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Long March 3C lofts secretive TJSW spacecraft
Launch activities at the Xichang Satellite Launch Center for 2018 ended with the launch of another secretive Tongxin Jishu Shiyan Weixing (TJSW) satellite on Christmas Day. The launch took place at 16:53 UTC using a Long March-3C/G2 (Chang Zheng-3C/G2) launch vehicle from the LC3 launch complex. As with the previous launch of Communications Engineering Test…
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China launches Chang’e-4 probe, destined for landing and roving on moon’s far side
A Chinese Long March 3B rocket lifts off from Xichang Satellite Launch Center, sending the Chang’e-4 probe into space. (CASC via Weibo) China’s space effort launched its most ambitious robotic lunar mission to date, taking aim at a crater near the south pole on the moon’s far side. The Chang’e-4 combination lander and rover were…
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China launches satellites for Saudi Arabia
A Chinese Long March 2D rocket lifts off Friday. Credit: CGWIC Two Saudi Arabian Earth observation satellites and 10 small secondary payloads rode a Long March 2D rocket into orbit Friday from the Jiuquan space base in China’s northwestern Inner Mongolia region, hours before the launch of a Chinese lunar probe targeting the first soft…
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China launches historic mission to land on far side of the moon
EDITOR’S NOTE: Updated at 7 p.m. EST (0000 GMT) with additional details on the mission. A view of the far side of the moon and the distant Earth, captured by the service module for the Chang’e 5-T1 tech demo mission in 2014. Credit: Chinese Academy of Sciences A robotic lander and rover lifted off Friday…
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Long March 2D launches SaudiSAT-5A/B
China launched another orbital mission from its Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center using a Long March-2D (Chang Zheng-2D) launch vehicle on Friday orbiting several satellites along with primary payloads SaudiSAT-5A/B. Launch took place at 04:12 UTC from Launch Pad 94 of the LC34 Launch Complex. The Piao Chong 1 to 6 (Ladybug 1 to 6), Tianyi X1…