Long March – Spaceflight Now

China launches historic mission to land on far side of the moon

December 7, 2018

A robotic lander and rover lifted off Friday (U.S. time) from China’s Xichang space center, kicking off a journey that will culminate in an attempt in early January to touch down on the far side of the moon for the first time.

China launches satellites for Saudi Arabia

December 7, 2018

Two Saudi Arabian Earth observation satellites and 10 small secondary payloads rode a Long March 2D rocket into orbit Friday from the Jiuquan space base in China’s northwestern Inner Mongolia region, hours before the launch of a Chinese lunar probe targeting the first soft landing on the far side of the moon.

China’s Long March 2D rocket launches five satellites

November 21, 2018

Five satellites rode a Long March 2D rocket into orbit Monday from the Jiuquan launch base in northwestern China, including a pathfinder for a planned constellation of low-altitude relay satellites and a mysterious spacecraft ambiguously described by Chinese state media.

China expands reach of Beidou navigation network with another launch

November 19, 2018

Two more Beidou navigation satellites launched from China on Sunday, ending a record run of 18 satellite deployments this year for the Chinese alternative to GPS and placing the program on the cusp of expanding to full-time coverage over most of Asia, Africa and Europe.

China maintains launch pace with another Beidou mission

November 1, 2018

China chalked up another launch Thursday with the on-target delivery of a Beidou navigation satellite destined for an operating post in geostationary orbit more than 22,000 miles over the equator.

China-France Oceanography Satellite launches on research mission

October 29, 2018

A joint oceanography research mission developed by Chinese and French scientists launched Monday on top of a Long March 2C rocket from the Jiuquan space center in remote northwestern China.

Chinese oceanography satellite launches successfully

October 25, 2018

China’s Haiyang 2B oceanography satellite, the follow-on to a space mission launched seven years ago, lifted off Wednesday from the country’s Taiyuan launch base aboard a Long March 4B booster.

China launches two more Beidou navigation satellites

October 15, 2018

A Long March 3B rocket carried two more Beidou navigation satellites into orbit Monday, the 14th and 15th Chinese navigation spacecraft launched this year.

Two satellites with secretive missions launched by China

October 12, 2018

Two Chinese Yaogan military reconnaissance satellites launched this week, riding a Long March 2C booster into orbit on a mission that inaugurated the use of a new restartable upper stage to increase the rocket’s carrying capacity.

Expansion of China’s Beidou satellite fleet continues with successful launch

September 20, 2018

Another successful launch Wednesday carried two more Beidou satellites into orbit, continuing a string of missions to push China’s independent navigation network closer to global coverage and adding international search-and-rescue support to the program’s portfolio.