Tag: China
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Long March 4B lofts Yaogan-21 in surprise launch
The Chinese have conducted another surprise launch, this time with the Long March 4B rocket reported to have lofted a new satellite in the Yaogan Weixing series. The Yaogan-21 satellite was launched at 03:22 UTC on Monday from the LC9 launch complex at the Taiyuan satellite Launch Center. Chinese Launch: As usual for this type of…
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China returns to action with Yaogan Weixing-20 mission
Closing a four month gap since the previous orbital launch, China successfully launched the Yaogan Weixing-20 mission from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. Launch took place on Saturday at 05:45 UTC from the 603 launch pad of the LC43 launch complex using a Long March-4C (Chang Zheng-4C) launch vehicle. Chinese Launch: The Yaogan Weixing-20 mission…
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China opens 2014 campaign with secretive satellite launch
The Chinese finally opened their 2014 campaign with the launch of a Shijian-11 class satellite. A Chang Zheng 2C (Long March 2C) rocket lofted a mysterious satellite – understood to be part of the Shijian-11 series of early warning satellites – from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center’s 603 launch pad at the LC43 launch complex at 02:46 UTC. Chinese Launch: This…
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China’s Chang’e-3 and Jade Rabbit duo land on the Moon
China’s Chang’e-3 and the lunar rover Yutu (Jade Rabbit) have landed on the lunar surface at 1:11 pm UTC on Saturday. The duo were launched by a Long March 3B on December 1, which was followed by a nominal flight into lunar orbit and subsequently China’s first soft landing on the Moon. China’s Mission to…
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Brazil’s CBERS-3 spacecraft lost following Chinese failure
A Chinese Long March 4B launched the CBERS-3 satellite at 03:26 UTC on Monday from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center. However, despite initial news of a launch success, the Chinese media are now claiming the launch vehicle suffered a problem during ascent, failed to insert the satellite into its required orbit, leading to the satellite being…
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Three person crew of China’s Shenzhou-10 return to Earth
The Chinese Shenzhou-10 spacecraft has returned its three member crew safely back to Earth following a 15 day mission in space, most of which involved docked operations with the Tiangong-1 space module. While the mission further refined rendezvous and docking techniques, crewmember Wang Yaping also provided a space lecture to thousands of Chinese school children.…
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Long March 3B/E launches with Chinasat-11
The Chinese have launched the Chinasat-11 (Zhongxing-11) communication satellite via a Long March 3B/E (Chang Zheng-3B/E) rocket on Wednesday. The launch took place at 16:06 UTC from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center, in the south west region of China. Long March 3B/E Launch: Zhongxing-11 has a lift-off mass of around 5,000 kg and a design…
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China end 2012 with Long March 2D launch of Göktürk-2
Chinas closing act on the orbital launch theatre for 2012 took place today at 04:12 UTC with the launching of the second Turkish made satellite, Göktürk-2, from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. Göktürk-2 was carried into space by a Long March 2D (Chang Zheng-2D) launch vehicle. China’s 19th Launch Of 2012: Launch was schedule on…
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China’s Long March 3C lofts another Compass-G into orbit
The Chinese were back in action on Thursday, launching the sixth Compass-G satellite into orbit via their Long March 3C (Chang Zheng 3C) launch vehicle. The 15:33 UTC launch from the LC2 launch complex of the Xichang Satellite Launch Center, in Sichuan Province marked 15th successful orbital launch this year for China. China Launch Again: According…
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Long March 2C launches Shijian-9 tech demonstrator satellite duo
The Chinese have launched their much delayed Shijian-9 mission on Sunday, involving a pair of technology demonstrator satellites. The launch took place at 03:25UTC from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center using a Long March 2C (Chang Zheng-2C/SMA) launch vehicle. Chinese Launch: The two satellites were developed by the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology (SAST) for…