Tag: Tianlong-3
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China debuts new launchers, tests orbital servicing and outlines future deep-space missions
CAS Space and Space Pioneer have both debuted new Chinese commercial launchers within days of each other, with more set to follow. Meanwhile, China conducted its first commercial demonstration of a robotic arm designed for in-space refueling, and outlined plans for future deep-space missions, including an asteroid redirection test and updated details of its crewed…
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Launch Preview: SLS, Falcon 9, Atlas V, and Soyuz launches comprise busy launch manifest
Nine launches are scheduled this week, with rockets expected to liftoff from Florida, California, Russia, Kazakhstan, and China. Most notably, NASA’s long-awaited Artemis II mission is scheduled to launch the first humans to the Moon in over 50 years on Wednesday. SpaceX has four Starlink missions scheduled for the week, with Falcon 9 launching two…
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Despite initial setbacks, Chinese spaceflight expected to see exciting 2026
The new year has not started well for China, with two failures among its first six launches. Even so, 2026 is shaping up to be a pivotal year, with numerous new launch vehicles — including several reusable designs — expected to debut, and a realistic prospect of the country’s first propulsive landing of an orbital-class…
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China prepares to launch uncrewed Shenzhou as maiden launches slip for commercial launch providers
China is preparing to launch an uncrewed Shenzhou spacecraft as its astronauts shuffle missions following damage to the Shenzhou-20 spacecraft, while the Tiangong station prepares to greet its first international visitor in 2026. Meanwhile, commercial launch providers continue to make progress toward maiden launches, though a number have slipped into early next year. Furthermore, a…
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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 accelerates toward lunar goals as reusability programs gain momentum
China has conducted two spacewalks from its Tiangong space station in as many months and is advancing on its lunar exploration plans with a successful pad abort test of its crewed Mengzhou capsule. Meanwhile, an experimental spacecraft has made advances in in-space refueling. Meanwhile, the next generation of reusable Chinese commercial rockets, many of which…
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China’s Sepoch Completes Vertical Liftoff and Splashdown Test for Reusable Rocket
Chinese commercial rocket firm Sepoch has successfully conducted a vertical takeoff and soft splashdown test of its Yuanxingzhe-1 (YXZ-1), a key milestone ahead of a potential orbital launch of the reusable vehicle later this year. The verification rocket lifted off from an elevated platform at the Haiyang spaceport in Shandong province at 4:40 p.m. Eastern…
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China Roundup : Next generation liquid propellant rockets and pads prepare to debut
Despite another relatively quiet month for launches, progress in the Chinese commercial space sector continues at pace. Two companies are progressing towards performing 10km hop tests of their prototype reusable vehicles and the race is on to become China’s first rocket to reach orbit and propulsively land its first stage. The first batch of satellites…
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China Launches Fifth High-Resolution Gaofen-11 Satellite
China successfully launched its fifth Gaofen-11 high-resolution satellite, adding to its China High-resolution Earth Observation System (CHEOS) constellation. The launch occurred late Thursday via a Long March 4B rocket from Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in northern China. The rocket lifted off at 11:03 p.m. Eastern on July 18 (0303 UTC, July 19), carrying the Gaofen-11…
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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…