Tag: Tiangong
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China reveals lunar lander, launches satellites, and conducts a spacewalk
China has stayed busy over the last week, launching a new set of Tianhui-6 satellites into space while detailing plans for their first lunar missions in 2030. Furthermore, a new change could impact the Chang Zheng 5B rocket and reduce the chances of an uncontrolled reentry. Finally, an EVA was conducted on the Tiangong Space…
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China launches two satellites following EVA at Tiangong station
The Chinese space program has resumed launches after going over a month without a single launch due to the Chinese New Year and Spring Festival holiday period. On Thursday, Feb. 23, at 7:49 PM Beijing time (11:49 UTC), Chang Zheng 3B Y93 flew successfully from pad LC-2 at Xichang in southwest China. This flight, the…
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China to launch new station modules and collaborate with Europe on science missions in 2023
With launch numbers 63 and 64 just before the end of this year, China finishes its most successful spaceflight year yet. Another Gaofen-11 launched from Taiyuan on a Chang Zheng 4B on Dec. 27 at 07:37 UTC, before the year was closed with the Shiyan 10-02 payload aboard a Chang Zheng 3B on Dec. 29…
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Three spacewalks completed across two days on two space stations
In low Earth orbit (LEO) this week, NASA, Roscosmos, and the China National Space Administration (CNSA) performed spacewalks outside humankind’s two permanently-crewed space stations. NASA conducted its Extravehicular Activity, or EVA (colloquially referred to as a spacewalk), on Tuesday, Nov. 15 on the International Space Station (ISS), with China following on Nov. 17 outside their…
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China launches two times in four hours and brings cargo to the TSS
China successfully launched the Tianzhou-5 mission to the Tiangong Space Station for cargo resupply. The mission launched at 02:03 UTC on Friday, Nov. 11 on a Chang Zheng 7 (Long March 7 in English) and docked at the Tiangong Space Station (TSS) at 04:10 UTC. The launch was conducted from the Wenchang Satellite Launch Center,…
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China launches Mengtian science module to Tiangong space station
China launched its second space station module of the year aboard a Chang Zheng 5B rocket Monday. The Mengtian module lifted off at 07:37 UTC, and once docked will complete the initial phase of the construction for China’s Tiangong space station. The launch of the Mengtian Laboratory Cabin Module, meaning “Dreaming of the Heavens,” follows…
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Tianzhou 4 cargo launch to begin busy space station year for China
China has launched the Tianzhou 4 cargo resupply mission on Monday, May 9 at 17:56 UTC (13:56 EDT) to the Tiangong space station. The Tianzhou spacecraft flew on a Chang Zheng 7 (Long March 7) rocket from the Wenchang Space Launch Site in Hainan, China, to an approximate 389.5 x 395 km orbit with an…
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Tianzhou 4 cargo launch to begin busy space station year for China
China has launched the Tianzhou 4 cargo resupply mission on Monday, May 9 at 17:56 UTC (13:56 EDT) to the Tiangong space station. The Tianzhou spacecraft flew on a Chang Zheng 7 (Long March 7) rocket from the Wenchang Space Launch Site in Hainan, China, to an approximate 389.5 x 395 km orbit with an…
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Assembly of Chinese space station begins with successful core module launch
A Chinese Long March 5B rocket lifts off with the Tianhe space station core module. Credit: Xinhua Chinese officials confirmed the successful launch of the first element of the country’s space station early Thursday, laying the keystone to a permanently-inhabited orbiting habitat that could welcome its first astronauts this summer. The liftoff of the Tianhe…
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First element of Chinese space station ready for liftoff
The core module of China’s space station undergoes a vacuum test to simulate the conditions it will see in orbit. The core module of China’s space station is packaged inside the nose cone of a heavy-lift Long March 5B rocket for liftoff late Wednesday (U.S. time), the first of 11 launches to deliver astronauts, supplies,…