Tag: CNSA
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After the China-Saudi Space Agreement: Satellite Data Is Turning Into Real Savings
On July 13, 2026, China National Space Administration (CNSA) Administrator Shan Zhongde met in Beijing with Abdullah Alswaha, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Communications and Information Technology and Chairman of the Board of the Saudi Space Agency. The two sides discussed cooperation across deep space exploration, space debris mitigation, and communications satellites under a bilateral space…
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China’s Tianwen-2 probe reaches target asteroid, starts scientific exploration
China’s Tianwen-2 probe has successfully arrived at a distance of 20 kilometers from the asteroid 2016HO3, enabling it to begin scientific exploration after an approximately 400-day journey of about 1 billion kilometers, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) announced on Monday. China launched its first asteroid sample-return mission, Tianwen-2, on May 29, 2025, aiming to…
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Tianwen-2 Reaches Kamo’oalewa at 20 km After 400-Day Transit
Has China’s Tianwen-2 Reached Asteroid Kamoʻoalewa? Yes — and the first close-up image has already rewritten what planetary scientists thought they knew about it. China’s Tianwen-2 sample return spacecraft arrived at near-Earth asteroid 469219 Kamoʻoalewa (2016 HO3) on July 6, 2026, establishing a 20-kilometer station point after a transit of approximately 1 billion kilometers across…
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Three Launches This Week Signal Quieter Period Before Major Missions
What’s driving this week’s lighter launch schedule? This week’s global launch manifest features just three missions—two SpaceX Falcon 9 flights and one Chinese Chang Zheng 7 mission—marking a notable deceleration from April’s 28 launches across all providers. The reduced cadence reflects seasonal planning patterns and payload delivery schedules rather than any operational constraints, with multiple…
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China Unveils Action Plan to Boost Commercial Space Firms and Overseas Expansion
China’s space agency has released a two-year action plan aimed at accelerating the growth of its commercial space sector and encouraging private companies to expand overseas and participate in international cooperation, according to a policy document issued this week. The plan, released by the China National Space Administration (CNSA) on Tuesday, calls on Chinese commercial…
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Chinese launch cadence picks up as Tianlong-3 prepares for launch
China’s Space Pioneer is preparing for the maiden launch of its Tianlong-3, a vehicle similar in design, size, and payload capacity to the Falcon 9, just over a year since the dramatic static fire of its first stage. This is set to be the first of several commercially developed reusable launchers set to make their…
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China Roundup: Third successful EVA and deep-space ambitions as China’s space economy surges
The Shenzhou-19 crew recently conducted their third spacewalk this month as the China National Space Administration announced it is open to including international scientific payloads aboard a forthcoming Mars mission. Meanwhile, bold plans for planetary exploration have been revealed and a design has emerged for a new space telescope with a familiar design. The commercial…
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NASA’s CLPS program accelerates as two landers head for the Moon
As NASA focuses on returning humans to the Moon with Artemis, commercial providers are gearing up to deliver cargo to the lunar surface for NASA and other customers. Over a dozen uncrewed lunar missions are scheduled to be launched in the coming years, and more concepts are being developed globally. Two commercial lunar landers are…
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Chang Zheng 12, ZhuQue-2E fly maiden missions; Hainan spaceport and mega constellations expand
In late November, two new Chinese rockets took their maiden flights within four days of each other, with the Chang Zheng 12 and Landspace’s enhanced ZhuQue-2E successfully completing their missions. This week saw the first launch of the Chang Zheng 5B heavy-lift vehicle in over two years, carrying an initial batch of satellites for another…
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China Roundup: Tianlong-3 static fire anomaly, Chang’e 6 sample return, and next-generation rockets
Throughout the last few weeks, several events in Chinese spaceflight have created international headlines. After launching a Chang Zheng 2C rocket that would later fall onto an inhabited village, a Tianlong-3 rocket was unexpectedly released during a static fire test and would crash in an area close to the launch site. However, not all of…