Tag: China
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China’s Long March 10B Nails First Net Catch at Sea
Is China’s Net-Catch Booster Recovery a Viable Third Architecture? China’s state-owned China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) recovered an orbital-class booster for the first time on July 11, 2026, catching the Long March 10B first stage in a tensioned cable net mounted to an offshore vessel — a recovery method distinct from both SpaceX’s…
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China Lands Orbital Rocket First Time in Net at Sea
Does China Now Have a Reusable Orbital Rocket? China recovered an orbital rocket’s first stage for the first time on July 10, 2026 — and did it in a way no one has tried before. The Long March 10B’s maiden flight lifted off from the Hainan Commercial Space Launch Site at 12:15 p.m. Beijing time,…
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Historic First: Long March-10B Successfully Demonstrates Controlled First-Stage Recovery
Long March-10B Rocket Makes Successful Maiden Flight and Booster Recovery At 12:15 p.m. on July 10, 2026, the Long March-10B launch vehicle lifted off from the Hainan Commercial Space Launch Site. Approximately six minutes after first-stage and second-stage separation, the first-stage booster executed a controlled vertical return and was successfully recovered on an offshore recovery…
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China’s Tianwen-2 probe reaches target asteroid, starts scientific exploration
China’s Tianwen-2 probe has successfully arrived at a distance of 20 kilometers from the asteroid 2016HO3, enabling it to begin scientific exploration after an approximately 400-day journey of about 1 billion kilometers, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) announced on Monday. China launched its first asteroid sample-return mission, Tianwen-2, on May 29, 2025, aiming to…
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Tianwen-2 Reaches Kamo’oalewa at 20 km After 400-Day Transit
Has China’s Tianwen-2 Reached Asteroid Kamoʻoalewa? Yes — and the first close-up image has already rewritten what planetary scientists thought they knew about it. China’s Tianwen-2 sample return spacecraft arrived at near-Earth asteroid 469219 Kamoʻoalewa (2016 HO3) on July 6, 2026, establishing a 20-kilometer station point after a transit of approximately 1 billion kilometers across…
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China’s Long March-8A rocket launches new satellite group
China sent a new satellite group into space on Sunday from a commercial spacecraft launch site in the southern island province of Hainan. The satellite group was launched at 9:43 p.m. (Beijing Time) and entered its preset orbit successfully. Sunday’s launch marked the 656th flight of the Long March rocket family.
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China launches new satellite group for commercial constellation aboard Long March-6 modified rocket
A modified Long March-6 carrier rocket carrying a new satellite group blasts off from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in north China’s Shanxi Province on July 4, 2026. (Photo by Li Tiantian/Xinhua) TAIYUAN, July 4 (Xinhua) — China sent a new satellite group into space on Saturday from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in north…
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China launches Haiyang-2E (HY-2E) marine satellite aboard a Long March-4B rocket
China on Thursday sent a new marine satellite into orbit from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China. A Long March-4B rocket carrying the Haiyang-2E (HY-2E) satellite took off at 7:46 a.m. (Beijing Time), sending the satellite into its planned orbit. The launch was the 654th involving the Long March rocket series. The HY-2E…
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Launch Preview: Swift rescue mission, final Atlas satellite launch
Several orbital launches are scheduled worldwide this week. A mission to rescue the Swift observatory spacecraft is planned along with the first full flight of a South Korean military launcher. This week could also see the final satellite launch by an Atlas family rocket. There is also an Electron launch from New Zealand. The Swift…
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NASA Advisory Panel Warns ISS Safety Margins Are Reaching ‘Alarming’ Levels
The safety margin for operating the International Space Station (ISS) is shrinking to an “alarming” level as aging hardware and limited replacement options continue to challenge long-term operations, NASA’s Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel has warned. Astronomy Speaking during a panel meeting, chair Susan Helms said it is becoming increasingly difficult for NASA to maintain sufficient…