Tag: China
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China resumes launch campaigns after string of failures, delays lunar mission
A Long March 2C rocket launched Sept. 29 from the Xichang space center in southwest China, the first Chinese space launch since July 2. Credit: Xinhua The launch of three experimental remote sensing satellites last week signaled the resumption of Chinese space launches following multiple rocket failures since late last year, but a senior Chinese…
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China returns to action with Long March 2C launch of Yaogan-30 01
After two launch mishaps that casted a shadow on the launch plans for 2017, China conducted a secretive launch from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center, Sichuan province on Friday. An unidentified payload – later revealed to be Yaogan-30 01 – was launched by the Long March-2C (Y29) at 04:20 UTC from the LC3 Launch Complex.…
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China’s Tianzhou 1 supply vehicle re-enters atmosphere
Artist’s concept of the Tianzhou 1 spacecraft. Credit: China Manned Space Engineering Office The Chinese Tianzhou 1 resupply and refueling freighter re-entered Earth’s atmosphere Friday, burning up as designed after a five-month mission demonstrating servicing techniques for China’s future space station. The nearly 35-foot-long (10.6-meter) robotic cargo carrier fired its thrusters two times to slow…
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Chinese space station freighter concludes refueling demo mission
Artist’s concept of the Tianzhou 1 freighter (left) and the Tiangong 2 space lab (right) docked together in orbit. Credit: China Manned Space Engineering Office China’s Tianzhou 1 freighter, a pathfinder for regular resupply and refueling trips to the country’s planned space station, wrapped up a series of successful propellant transfer tests with the orbiting…
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Chinese TV broadcasting satellite reaches operational orbit after off-target launch
Chinasat 9A pictured with members of the satellite’s manufacturing and test team. Credit: China Academy of Space Technology The Chinasat 9A communications satellite has arrived at its operational perch more than 22,000 miles over the equator after a Long March rocket deployed the craft in a lower-than-planned orbit last month due to a roll control…
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Launch of China’s heavy-lift Long March 5 rocket declared a failure
China’s second Long March 5 rocket lifted off at 1123 GMT (7:23 a.m. EDT; 7:23 p.m. Beijing time) Sunday. Credit: Xinhua China’s second Long March 5 rocket fell short of orbit Sunday after lifting off from a spaceport in the southern Chinese province of Hainan, clouding the country’s plans to send a robotic sample return…
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Second launch of China’s Long March 5 heavy-lift rocket set for Sunday
The Long March 5 rocket begins its rollout to a launch pad at the Wenchang space center Monday, June 26. Credit: Xinhua China’s Long March 5 rocket is counting down to liftoff Sunday from the country’s tropical island space center with a high-power, electrically-propelled communications satellite. The heavy-lifter is scheduled to blast off from the…
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Chinese broadcasting satellite ends up in wrong orbit after rocket failure
File photo of a previous Long March 3B launch. Credit: Xinhua Ground controllers could try to salvage a Chinese television broadcasting satellite deployed in a lower-than-planned orbit Sunday by a Long March 3B rocket. A brief statement from the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp., a state-run contractor for China’s space program, confirmed an anomaly…
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Long March 3B lofts ChinaSat 9A – third stage issue reported
Three days after the successful launch of the Huiyan (HXMT) X-ray space telescope, China was back in action with the launch of a new communications satellite from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center. Launch of Zhongxing-9A (also designated ChinaSat-9A) took place at 16:10 UTC using a Long March-3B/G2 (Chang Zheng-3B/G2) launch vehicle from the LC2 launch…
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Chinese astronomy satellite placed into orbit by Long March rocket
China’s Long March 4B rocket lifts off Thursday with the Hard X-ray Modulation Telescope. Credit: Xinhua China’s first X-ray astronomy satellite launched Thursday on a mission to survey the Milky Way galaxy for black holes and pulsars, the remnants left behind after a star burns up its nuclear fuel. The Hard X-ray Modulation Telescope will…