China – Page 21 – Spaceflight Now

China sets November launch for lunar sample return mission

January 25, 2017 Stephen Clark

China plans to launch a robotic mission to return samples from the lunar surface, the first such mission in four decades, in November on top of the country’s new heavy-lift Long March 5 rocket, according to state media reports.

Commercial Earth-observing craft recover from off-target launch

January 11, 2017 Stephen Clark

Two Chinese satellites launched into the wrong orbit Dec. 28 have reached their planned perch at an altitude of around 300 miles and sent back their first high-resolution views of Earth for their Beijing-based commercial owner.

Kuaizhou rocket lifts off on first commercial mission

January 9, 2017 Stephen Clark

A solid-fueled Chinese Kuaizhou launcher positioned to compete for worldwide business took off Monday on its first commercial mission with three small satellites to collect high-definition video and test communications technologies.

Long March rocket blasts off on first launch of the year

January 6, 2017 Stephen Clark

A new satellite bound for geostationary orbit more than 22,000 miles over the equator launched aboard a Chinese Long March 3B rocket Thursday, but government officials have released little information about its mission.

Chinese Earth observation satellites launched into lower-than-planned orbit

December 28, 2016 Stephen Clark

Two commercial Earth-imaging satellites launched by a Chinese Long March 2D booster Wednesday are flying in lower-than-planned orbits after an apparent rocket mishap, according to tracking data published by the U.S. military.

China sends carbon-monitoring satellite into orbit

December 22, 2016 Stephen Clark

A Chinese satellite designed to track greenhouse gases in Earth’s atmosphere rode into orbit Wednesday aboard a Long March 2D rocket, joining an international fleet of orbiting carbon dioxide monitors aimed at combating climate change.

New-generation geostationary weather satellite launched by China

December 11, 2016 Stephen Clark

The first satellite in an upgraded series of Chinese geostationary weather observatories lifted off on top of a Long March 3B rocket Saturday to demonstrate the performance of new spacecraft systems and instrumentation.

China launches data relay satellite for future space station crews

November 22, 2016 Stephen Clark

China added a fourth craft Tuesday to a network of geostationary data relay satellites tasked with keeping mission control in steady contact with Shenzhou crew capsules and a planned space station.

Two Chinese astronauts back on Earth

November 18, 2016 Stephen Clark

Two Chinese astronauts closed out a month in space Friday with a parachute-assisted landing in northern China’s remote Inner Mongolia territory, a day after the crew departed the Tiangong 2 space lab to begin the trip home.

Mysterious weather satellite launched from China

November 13, 2016 Stephen Clark

China launched a polar-orbiting weather satellite Friday to take data on the atmosphere and seas, state media announced, but Chinese officials offered little detail on the craft’s mission.