China – Page 27 – Spaceflight Now

Debut launch of Long March 6 deploys 20 satellites

September 20, 2015 Stephen Clark

China’s Long March 6 rocket, fueled by a mixture of kerosene and liquid oxygen, successfully shot into orbit on its first mission Saturday with 20 small satellites, signaling a revolution in Chinese rocketry as the country prepares to test bigger boosters in the coming months.

China conducts two space launches in short span

September 14, 2015 Stephen Clark

Two space launches from China in a 37-hour span have placed an experimental communications satellite and a sharp-eyed Earth-viewing craft into orbit, according to Chinese state media reports.

Chinese spy payload fired into orbit

August 27, 2015 Stephen Clark

China sent the next in a series of military-operated spy satellites into orbit Thursday aboard a Long March 4C rocket in an unannounced launch from the country’s northeastern space center.

Two navigation satellites launched by China

July 25, 2015 Stephen Clark

Two Chinese satellites lifted off Saturday on top of a Long March 3B rocket and rode into orbit nearly 14,000 miles above Earth to expand the country’s space-based navigation network.

China sends up remote sensing satellite

June 27, 2015 Stephen Clark

China launched a high-resolution optical Earth observation satellite Friday on top of a Long March 4B rocket, according to state media reports.

ESA reveals candidates for new space science missions

June 4, 2015 Stephen Clark

The European Space Agency revealed plans Thursday to build and launch a joint space weather research satellite with China and announced three finalists for Europe’s next standalone science mission.

Europe, China issue call for joint science mission

January 24, 2015 Stephen Clark

Europe and China are planning a joint robotic space mission for launch in 2021, and officials are asking scientists to propose projects aimed at research in astronomy, exploring the solar system, or investigations in fundamental physics.

Chinese pathfinder probe arrives in lunar orbit

January 21, 2015 Stephen Clark

A Chinese spacecraft launched in October has settled into a circular orbit around the moon for rendezvous simulations and reconnaissance to prepare for a planned lunar sample return mission, according to state media reports.

In an eerie scene, Chinese villagers visit rocket crash site

January 4, 2015 Stephen Clark

The expended first stage of a Long March rocket tumbled into a forested region of southwestern China a few minutes after successfully blasting off Dec. 31 with a Chinese weather satellite, and photographers were there to capture the booster’s fall back to Earth.

2014’s launch tally highest in two decades

January 4, 2015 Stephen Clark

There were more successful space launches in 2014 than in any year since 1992, with Russia, the United States and China responsible for more than 80 percent of global launch activity.