Tag: China
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Launch Roundup: ULA scrubs launch of Kuiper satellites, NASA postpones launch of Axiom crew to ISS
Both SpaceX and NASA have postponed this week’s planned launch of Axiom Space’s fourth private crewed mission to the International Space Station (ISS), following leaks discovered on both the vehicle and subsequently on the Space Station’s Zvezda module. The flight was due to debut the fifth and final Crew Dragon capsule, and would further increase…
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China’s Astronstone Secures $14 Million to Develop Stainless Steel Reusable Rocket Modeled on SpaceX Starship
Astronstone, one of China’s newest commercial space startups, announced it has raised over 100 million yuan ($13.9 million) in early-stage funding to develop a stainless steel, reusable rocket inspired by SpaceX’s Starship system. Founded in mid-2024, Astronstone is developing its AS-1 launch vehicle, a 70-meter tall, 4.2-meter diameter rocket powered by a customized version of…
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China’s Sepoch Completes Vertical Liftoff and Splashdown Test for Reusable Rocket
Chinese commercial rocket firm Sepoch has successfully conducted a vertical takeoff and soft splashdown test of its Yuanxingzhe-1 (YXZ-1), a key milestone ahead of a potential orbital launch of the reusable vehicle later this year. The verification rocket lifted off from an elevated platform at the Haiyang spaceport in Shandong province at 4:40 p.m. Eastern…
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China Launches Tianwen-2 Asteroid and Comet Mission to Expand Planetary Science and Defense Capabilities
China launched its second planetary exploration mission last week, sending the Tianwen-2 spacecraft to collect samples from a near-Earth asteroid and later study a main belt comet, as Beijing expands its role in international deep-space science and planetary defense efforts. The mission lifted off on a Long March 3B rocket from the Xichang Satellite Launch…
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China Accelerates AI Push with Ground and Space-Based Infrastructure, U.S. Struggles to Counter
China is advancing a state-driven campaign to dominate global artificial intelligence through an expanding network of domestic data centers and an emerging space-based computing architecture, according to a new report. The report, titled “China’s AI Infrastructure Surge,” was published by the Special Competitive Studies Project and Strider Technologies. It describes how Beijing is coordinating with…
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China extends its reach into the Solar System with launch of asteroid mission
A Chinese spacecraft built to collect specimens from an unexplored asteroid and return them to Earth successfully launched Wednesday from a military-run spaceport in the country’s mountainous interior. Liftoff aboard a Long March 3B rocket at 1:31 pm EDT (17:31 UTC) from the Xichang launch base kicked off the second mission in a series of…
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Launch Roundup: Chinese asteroid mission, and Falcon 9 launch
This week, China launched a near-Earth asteroid sample return mission amongst several other missions. Meanwhile, Rocket Lab has postponed the launch its Electron rocket from New Zealand until June 3 for additional checks and bad weather. Coming off the launch of Starship’s ninth flight test on Tuesday, SpaceX launched several Starlink missions. The company also…
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China’s MinoSpace Secures $111 Million Contract for Sichuan Satellite Constellation
Chinese commercial satellite manufacturer MinoSpace has won a contract valued at 804 million yuan ($111 million) to construct a remote sensing satellite constellation for Sichuan Province, marking a significant step in the country’s growing use of private firms in national space infrastructure projects. The deal, announced May 18 by the National Public Resources Trading Platform…
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Landspace Launches Six Satellites with Methane-Fueled Zhuque-2E Rocket in Fifth Mission
Chinese private launch firm Landspace successfully placed six satellites into orbit on May 17, marking the fifth flight of its methane-fueled Zhuque-2 rocket and continuing a sharp uptick in China’s orbital activity this year. The Zhuque-2E lifted off at 12:12 a.m. Eastern (0412 UTC) from a dedicated commercial pad at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center…
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China Boosts Space Activity with Long March 7A and Ceres-1 Sea Launches
China has intensified its space launch schedule with two recent missions, deploying a Long March 7A rocket to geosynchronous orbit and a Ceres-1 solid rocket from a sea platform into low Earth orbit, marking the country’s 28th and 29th orbital launch attempts this year. A Long March 7A lifted off from the Wenchang Satellite Launch…