China – Page 19 – Spaceflight Now

Three Chinese military surveillance satellites successfully launched

November 26, 2017 Stephen Clark

A Chinese rocket placed three experimental military surveillance satellites in orbit Friday, the second set of related triplets launched in less than two months.

Three video imaging satellites launched from China

November 21, 2017 Stephen Clark

A Long March 6 booster took off Tuesday from China with three commercial Earth observation satellites designed to record high-definition video and color imagery from a perch more than 300 miles above the planet.

Chinese weather satellite launched into polar orbit

November 14, 2017 Stephen Clark

A Chinese Long March 4C rocket launched Tuesday with a new polar-orbiting weather observatory named Fengyun 3D, replacing an aging satellite for the China Meteorological Administration.

China returns Long March 3B rocket to service after June failure

November 5, 2017 Stephen Clark

China’s Long March 3B rocket, used to power navigation and communications satellites into high-altitude orbits, launched for the first time in nearly five months Sunday with two spacecraft for the country’s Beidou positioning network.

China successfully launches Earth-imaging satellite for Venezuela

October 9, 2017 Stephen Clark

A Chinese Long March 2D rocket launched Venezuela’s second Earth-observing surveillance satellite Monday, adding a new space-based reconnaissance asset the country’s government says it will use to aid security forces, emergency responders, farmers, and health professionals.

China resumes launch campaigns after string of failures, delays lunar mission

October 4, 2017 Stephen Clark

The launch of three experimental remote sensing satellites last week signaled the resumption of Chinese space launches following multiple rocket failures since late last year, but a senior Chinese space official has confirmed the Chang’e 5 mission to return samples from the moon remains grounded.

China’s Tianzhou 1 supply vehicle re-enters atmosphere

September 22, 2017 Stephen Clark

The Chinese Tianzhou 1 resupply and refueling freighter re-entered Earth’s atmosphere Friday, burning up as designed after a five-month mission demonstrating servicing techniques for China’s future space station.

Chinese space station freighter concludes refueling demo mission

September 17, 2017 Stephen Clark

China’s Tianzhou 1 freighter, a pathfinder for regular resupply and refueling trips to the country’s planned space station, wrapped up a series of successful propellant transfer tests with the orbiting Tiangong 2 space lab Saturday and detached from the module for more standalone experiments and a destructive re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere.

Chinese TV broadcasting satellite reaches operational orbit after off-target launch

July 13, 2017 Stephen Clark

The Chinasat 9A communications satellite has arrived at its operational perch more than 22,000 miles over the equator after a Long March rocket deployed the craft in a lower-than-planned orbit last month due to a roll control error in the launcher’s third stage, according to China’s top state-owned aerospace contractor.

Launch of China’s heavy-lift Long March 5 rocket declared a failure

July 2, 2017 Stephen Clark

China’s second Long March 5 rocket fell short of orbit Sunday after lifting off from a spaceport in the southern Chinese province of Hainan, placing a cloud over the country’s plans to send a robotic sample return mission to the moon later this year.