Tag: Wenchang
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China’s First Cross-Border Satellite Data Processing and Trade Zone Unveiled in Wenchang
The Hainan Aerospace Data Cross-Border Processing and Trade Zone was officially unveiled at the opening ceremony of the 2026 Wenchang International Aviation and Aerospace Forum on Aug. 25. As China’s first trade zone dedicated to the cross-border processing of satellite data, it will leverage the policy advantages of the Hainan Free Trade Port and Wenchang’s…
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China’s Race for Orbit and Spectrum: Hainan’s New Factory Targets 1,000 Satellites a Year
The successful recovery of Zhuque-3 was celebrated across China. From state-owned aerospace organizations to private companies, China’s commercial space sector has achieved a historic breakthrough in rocket recovery technology. Yet while everyone was looking up at the sky, another, less visible part of China’s space strategy was quietly taking shape. June 2026, Wenchang, Hainan Province.…
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Launch Preview: SpaceX and Chinese rockets to launch internet satellites to LEO
SpaceX and Chinese launches dominate this week’s launch manifest, which features six missions from five launch sites worldwide. Falcon 9 is scheduled to launch three Starlink missions from SpaceX’s California and Florida launch facilities. In China, a Chang Zheng 12B flew on its debut mission on Monday, with a Chang Zheng 8 and Chang Zheng…
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Launch Preview: three launches — a calm before the storm?
Two Falcon 9 launches and a Chang Zheng 7 make up the launch roster for the week commencing Monday, May 4, 2026. SpaceX will use its launches to place a further 48 Starlink satellites into Group 17 of the huge constellation of over 7,000 satellites. China’s single flight is a cargo supply mission to the…
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Launch Preview: Falcon 9 to dominate another busy week of missions
Eight launches are scheduled worldwide this week, with Falcon 9 again dominating the launch schedule. SpaceX is set to launch a communications satellite and Starlink satellites this week from its Florida and California launch facilities. Meanwhile, Firefly Aerospace was set to launch its Alpha rocket from California on Tuesday, before scrubbing. Internationally, China is scheduled…
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Launch Roundup: SpaceX to launch Crew-11 to ISS; ISRO and NASA launch new SAR satellite
With 11 launches scheduled worldwide, this week’s launch roundup is among the busiest of 2025 so far. SpaceX is expected to conduct four missions with the workhorse Falcon 9, including the crewed Crew-11 mission to the International Space Station. Blue Origin’s New Shepard took six humans to suborbital space this week. Internationally, the first-ever domestically…
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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 launches three taikonauts to Tiangong, commercial sector continues to expand
China has launched its ninth crewed mission to the Tiangong space station, coinciding with the 55th anniversary of the launch of Dongfanghong-1, the country’s first satellite. Meanwhile, China has achieved the world’s first network of satellites using a distant retrograde orbit (DRO) in Earth-Moon space, with its DRO-B satellite completing a final manoeuver this month.…
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Chang Zheng 8A launches as Chinese spaceport expansions begin
Chinese spaceflight activities have been on pause in recent weeks due to the annual Spring Festival and New Lunar Year celebrations. Nonetheless, February saw the maiden launch of the Chang Zheng 8A (CZ-8A) rocket, which debuted new engines and other technologies to expand China’s spaceflight capabilities. Construction is underway to extend infrastructure at the Hainan…
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Launch Roundup: Starlink and CZ-8A launches planned; Falcon booster to land in Bahamas
China conducted the debut flight of an upgraded version of the Chang Zheng 8 medium-lift rocket this week. Three Starlink launches from Florida were planned, with just the Feb. 18 flight remaining to be done, and a NROL flight from Vandenberg aboard a Falcon 9 is now set for Feb. 17. All three Starlink flights…