Tag: China
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China’s Tianzhou 1 cargo carrier docks with space lab in orbit
Less than two days after launching from southern China, the Tianzhou 1 supply ship glided to an automated linkup with the Chinese Tiangong 2 space laboratory around 240 miles (385 kilometers) above Earth on Saturday, ready for several months of technical demonstrations to prepare for assembly of a space station in the next few years.…
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First supply ship for Chinese space station lifts off on test flight
The Tianzhou 1 cargo craft launched aboard a Long March 7 rocket Thursday. Credit: Xinhua A Long March 7 rocket lifted off Thursday with Tianzhou 1, an unpiloted refueling freighter heading for China’s Tiangong 2 mini-space station to conduct several months of robotic demonstrations, practicing for the assembly and maintenance of a future permanently-staffed orbital…
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Tianzhou-1 – China launches and docks debut cargo resupply
China is taking another significant step on the road towards a permanent presence in space, following the Long March 7 (TZ-1) launch of Tianzhou-1 – the first Chinese logistics cargo vehicle. The launch took place at 11:40:45 UTC on Thursday from the LC201 Launch Complex at the Wenchang Space Launch Center, followed by docking on…
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China’s first robotic resupply freighter transferred to launch pad
A Chinese Long March 7 rocket rolled out to its launch pad at the Wenchang space center on China’s Hainan Island on Monday. Credit: Xinhua/Ju Zhenhua Chinese engineers rolled out a Long March 7 rocket to a seaside launch complex on Hainan Island in the South China Sea on Monday, aiming to fire a robotic…
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China’s highest-capacity communications satellite launched into orbit
A Long March 3B rocket blasted off Wednesday with China’s Shijian 13/Chinasat 16 communications satellite. Credit: Xinhua A Chinese Long March 3B rocket fired into space Wednesday with Shijian 13, also known as Chinasat 16, to deliver Internet connectivity to remote parts of China, airline travelers and high-speed trains. The Shijian 13 satellite also has…
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Experimental Tiankun-1 lofted during secretive KT-2 launch
China orbited a small experimental satellite called Tiankun-1 (TK-1), utilizing the Kaituozhe-2 (KT-2) rocket, new launch vehicle. Launched at 23:45 UTC on Thursday from the Jiuquan Launch Center, the new launcher is the latest in a series of solid launcher fueled rockets developed by China that debuted during recent months. Chinese Launch: The small TK-1…
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Small experimental satellite launched by new Chinese rocket
China debuted a new solid-fueled booster Thursday in an unannounced flight that put a small satellite into polar orbit, adding another rocket to the country’s growing fleet of lightweight launchers. The KT-2 rocket lifted off at 2353 GMT (6:53 p.m. EST) Thursday from the Jiuquan space center, a military-run base in northwestern China’s Gobi Desert,…
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China sets November launch for lunar sample return mission
File photo of the moon seen from the International Space Station. Credit: NASA China plans to launch a robotic mission to return samples from the lunar surface, the first such mission in four decades, in November on top of the country’s new heavy-lift Long March 5 rocket, according to state media reports. The government-run Xinhua…
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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…