Tianlian – Spaceflight Now

April 7, 2026

Breaking News

[ April 5, 2026 ] Artemis astronauts send down Easter message, prep for lunar fly around Monday Artemis
[ April 3, 2026 ] ULA’s Atlas 5 rocket launches its heaviest payload ever with fifth Amazon Leo mission Atlas 5
[ April 2, 2026 ] Artemis 2 crew blasts off on historic moon mission Artemis
[ April 1, 2026 ] Live coverage: NASA to launch Artemis 2, its first Moon-bound mission with astronauts since 1972 Artemis
[ March 30, 2026 ] Falcon 9 booster launches for record 34th time on Starlink delivery mission Falcon 9

China launches tracking and data relay satellite

March 31, 2019 Stephen Clark

A Chinese Long March 3B rocket delivered a new-generation tracking and data relay satellite to orbit Sunday to provide communications support for the country’s future human spaceflight missions and space station.

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.