Tag: Orienspace
-
China Launches Four Rockets in 45 Hours as Broadband Constellation Deployment Accelerates
China completed four orbital launches with four different rockets in just over 44 hours between September 15 and 17, 2026, deploying satellites from Jiuquan, an offshore platform east of Shanghai, and the Hainan Commercial Space Launch Site. The sequence involved two commercially developed launch vehicles and two rockets operated by state-owned groups, highlighting the growing…
-
Gravity-1 Launches Nine Satellites on Fourth Flight, Sets Chinese Sea-Launch Records (Video)
Orienspace’s Gravity-1 Y3 solid-propellant rocket launched eight Qianfan broadband satellites and an EUHT technology-demonstration satellite from the East China Sea on September 16, 2026, completing the vehicle’s fourth successful flight and setting new Chinese records for payload mass and orbital altitude on a single sea-launch mission. The rocket lifted off at 6:00 a.m. Beijing time,…
-
China’s Private Rockets Accelerate Toward Orbit: Who Has Made It—and Who Is Next in Line
On September 1, PALLAS-1 Y1 lifted off from Jiuquan. Galactic Energy is no longer a company with only small solid-fueled rockets: its 52-meter-tall, medium-to-heavy liquid launch vehicle, powered by seven clustered liquid oxygen/kerosene engines, has now completed its first orbital flight. PALLAS-1 Y1 lifts off. Image source: Galactic Energy website, September 2, 2026. Less than…
-
Orienspace Gravity-1 Third Flight Delivers 9 Sats from Shanghai
Did Orienspace’s Third Gravity-1 Mission Succeed? Yes. Orienspace’s third Gravity-1 solid rocket successfully delivered nine satellites to low Earth orbit at 10:54 p.m. Eastern on July 21 (0254 UTC, July 22), lifting off from a launch service ship in the East China Sea near Shanghai. The mission marked Orienspace’s first long-range sea launch — a…
-
Surge in static fires as China’s space sector gains momentum
As China’s launch cadence continues to accelerate, so too has the pace of engine testing in recent weeks. A growing number of commercial launch providers are edging closer to the maiden flights of new vehicles — several of which are still on track to debut before the end of the year. Meanwhile, taikonauts aboard the…
-
Launch Roundup: Falcon 9 to launch three times, Blue Origin to launch crew
SpaceX leads the launch manifest for the first whole week of October with two Falcon 9 missions. Both of these missions will launch satellites into SpaceX’s internet constellation, Starlink. Meanwhile, Blue Origin joined the launch schedule by launching six people to suborbital space on its New Shepard vehicle, and Orienspace launched for the second time using…