Xichang – Spaceflight Now

China launches four satellites on Long March 2C rocket

May 6, 2021 Stephen Clark

Three Chinese military satellites and a civilian data relay payload launched Thursday aboard a Long March 2C rocket.

China launches military satellite toward geostationary orbit

February 7, 2021 Stephen Clark

A mysterious Chinese government satellite, believed to be a military-operated early warning station, successfully launched into orbit Feb. 4 on top of a Long March 3B rocket.

China’s first launch of 2021 orbits communications satellite

January 20, 2021 Stephen Clark

A Chinese Long March 3B rocket deployed the Tiantong 1-03 satellite to provide mobile communications services after a successful launch Tuesday, the first of more than 40 Chinese space missions set for liftoff in 2021.

U.S. companies, led by SpaceX, launched more than any other country in 2020

January 5, 2021 Stephen Clark

Leading all other nations, U.S. launch providers flew 44 missions in 2020 that aimed to place payloads in Earth orbit or deep space, with 40 successes. China followed with 35 successful orbital missions in 39 launch attempts.

China launches two small satellites for gravitational wave research

December 10, 2020 Stephen Clark

Two small Chinese satellites designed to detect gamma-ray bursts associated with gravitational waves launched Wednesday on a Long March 11 rocket, beginning an astrophysics research mission to study black holes and neutron stars.

China launches Earth-observation satellite for stereo mapping

December 6, 2020 Stephen Clark

China launched an optical stereo mapping satellite Sunday, using an upgraded version of the country’s Long March 3B rocket with an extended payload shroud to deliver the Earth-imaging spacecraft into orbit 300 miles above Earth.

China launches mobile telecom satellite

November 14, 2020 Stephen Clark

A new Chinese mobile communications satellite launched Thursday on top of a Long March 3B rocket, joining a similar spacecraft launched four years ago to provide voice and data services to users on the go.

China launches three military spy satellites

October 26, 2020 Stephen Clark

Three mysterious payloads widely believed to be signals intelligence satellites for the Chinese military rocketed into orbit on top of a Long March 2C booster Monday from a launch base in southwestern China.

China launches geosynchronous Earth observation satellite

October 12, 2020 Stephen Clark

China successfully launched a Gaofen optical observation satellite Sunday toward a perch more than 22,000 miles over the equator, where it will use an Earth-facing telescope to collect remote sensing images, Chinese state media said.

High-throughput communications satellite launched from China

July 9, 2020 Stephen Clark

A high-power broadband communications satellite designed to provide Internet access to airliner passengers, cruise ships, fishing vessels, and other mobile users successfully launched Thursday aboard a Chinese Long March 3B rocket.