Tag: Wenchang
-
Launch Roundup: Falcon 9 launches customer payloads, China fly resupply mission to Tiangong
While SpaceX flew Starship on its sixth integrated test flight, the company also flew three satellites to geostationary transfer orbit this week. Koreasat 6A, Optus-X, and GSAT-20 were launched. Meanwhile, four Starlink missions also flew this week. Finally, Starship Flight 6 was moved to Tuesday, Nov. 19 and was launched successfully on that day. Starlink…
-
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…
-
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…
-
China Roundup: Chang’e 6 lands on the Moon, and record-breaking EVA
China’s Chang’e 6 landed on and sampled the far side of the Moon while the Shenzhou-18 crew performed a record-breaking spacewalk at the Tiangong Space Station. Additionally, 10 more rockets were launched from the country in the last few weeks. Chang’e 6 lands on the far side of the Moon China’s sixth uncrewed lunar exploration…
-
China Roundup: Chinese Moon plans, commercial company updates, and Wenchang commercial pad
China provided several updates to its lunar exploration plans, while private companies like LandSpace and Space Pioneer are also getting closer to milestones. Meanwhile, the commercial complex in Wenchang is getting ready to host private Chinese rockets. China details lunar exploration further In a recent presentation, China detailed its lunar exploration plan for the near…
-
Rocket launch marks big step in building China’s lunar infrastructure
The next phase of China’s Moon program began with the launch of a new data relay satellite Monday to link lunar landers and rovers on the far side of the Moon with ground controllers back on Earth. This launch sent China’s Queqiao-2 relay spacecraft toward the Moon, where it will enter an elliptical orbit and…
-
China kicks off 2023 campaign with launch doubleheader
With two launches now under its belt, China joins the US as the second nation to have launched to orbit in 2023. First, the Shijian 23 payload lifted off at 22:00 UTC on Sunday onboard a Chang Zheng 7A from Wenchang. Just seven hours later, Gushenxing-1 carried the “Give Me Five” rideshare mission to orbit…
-
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,…
-
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…
-
China launches Advanced Space-borne Solar Observatory
China launched the Advanced Space-borne Solar Observatory (ASO-S) on Chang Zheng 2D. The launch took place on Oct. 8, at 23:43 UTC, and was confirmed a success. It will operate in a 720 km Sun-synchronous orbit and will observe the Sun 24 hours a day. Furthermore, a CentiSpace payload was launched, and LandSpace updated the…