Tianlian – Spaceflight Now

July 18, 2026

Breaking News

[ July 16, 2026 ] Post-ignition anomaly causes abort of SpaceX’s Starship Flight 13 Artemis
[ July 4, 2026 ] Semiconductor manufacturing test bed flies alongside Starlink satellites on Falcon 9 launch Falcon 9
[ July 1, 2026 ] SpaceX launches 24 Starlink satellites on Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg SFB Falcon 9
[ June 30, 2026 ] Astronauts ‘operate’ on space station’s broken robot arm Mission Reports
[ June 30, 2026 ] Blue Origin outlines return to flight logistics for its New Glenn rockets Moon Base

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.