Tag: China
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Commercial Earth-observing craft recover from off-target launch
The SuperView 1 satellites pictured before their launch. Credit: Beijing Space View Two Chinese satellites launched into the wrong orbit last month have reached their planned perch at an altitude of around 300 miles (500 kilometers) and sent back their first high-resolution views of Earth for their Beijing-based commercial owner. The two SuperView 1, or…
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Kuaizhou rocket lifts off on first commercial mission
The Kuaizhou 1A rocket lifted off at 0411 GMT Monday (11:11 p.m. EST Sunday) from the Jiuquan space center. Credit: Xinhua A solid-fueled Chinese Kuaizhou launcher positioned to compete for worldwide business took off Monday on its first commercial mission with three small satellites to collect high-definition video and test communications technologies. The Kuaizhou 1A…
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Long March rocket blasts off on first launch of the year
A Long March 3B rocket lifted off at 1518 GMT (10:18 a.m. EST) Thursday. Credit: CCTV A new satellite bound for geostationary orbit more than 22,000 miles over the equator launched aboard a Chinese Long March 3B rocket Thursday, but government officials have released little information about its mission. China’s state-run Xinhua news agency reported…
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Chinese Earth observation satellites launched into lower-than-planned orbit
Two commercial Earth-imaging satellites launched by a Chinese Long March 2D booster Wednesday are flying in lower-than-planned orbits after an apparent rocket mishap, according to tracking data published by the U.S. military. The two SuperView 1, or Gaojing 1, satellites are flying in egg-shaped orbits ranging from 133 miles (214 kilometers) to 325 miles (524…
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China lays out plans to put probe on moon’s far side in 2018 – and on Mars in 2020
An artist’s conception shows the Chang’e 4 spacecraft landing on the moon. (CCTV via YouTube) China’s latest white paper on space exploration confirms the country’s plans to send a rover to the moon’s far side in 2018 and put a rover on Mars in 2020. Today’s white paper, released by the State Council Information Office, says the…
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China sends carbon-monitoring satellite into orbit
A Long March 2D rocket lifted off Wednesday with China’s TanSat carbon-monitoring satellite. Credit: Xinhua A Chinese satellite designed to track greenhouse gases in Earth’s atmosphere rode into orbit Wednesday aboard a Long March 2D rocket, joining an international fleet of orbiting carbon dioxide monitors aimed at combating climate change. The TanSat mission took off…
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New-generation geostationary weather satellite launched by China
A Long March 3B rocket lifted off Saturday with the Fengyun 4A weather satellite. Credit: Xinhua The first satellite in an upgraded series of Chinese geostationary weather observatories lifted off on top of a Long March 3B rocket Saturday to demonstrate the performance of new spacecraft systems and instrumentation. The nearly 11,700-pound (5,300-kilogram) Fengyun 4A…
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China launches data relay satellite for future space station crews
A Long March 3C/G2 rocket lifted off with the fourth Tianlian 1 data relay satellite Tuesday. Credit: Xinhua China added a fourth craft Tuesday to a network of geostationary data relay satellites tasked with keeping mission control in steady contact with Shenzhou crew capsules and a planned space station. The new satellite is the fourth…
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Two Chinese astronauts back on Earth
China’s spacecraft recovery team works around the Shenzhou 11 landing capsule Friday after its touchdown in Inner Mongolia. Credit: Xinhua Two Chinese astronauts closed out a month in space Friday with a parachute-assisted landing in northern China’s remote Inner Mongolia territory, a day after the crew departed the Tiangong 2 space lab to begin the…
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Mysterious weather satellite launched from China
A Long March 2D rocket lifted off at 2314 GMT (6:14 p.m. EST) Friday with the Yunhai 1 weather satellite. Credit: Xinhua China launched a polar-orbiting weather satellite Friday to take data on the atmosphere and seas, state media announced, but Chinese officials offered little detail on the craft’s mission. The Yunhai 1 satellite lifted…