Tag: Kuaizhou 1A
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Launch Roundup: SpaceX to launch Crew-11 to ISS; ISRO and NASA launch new SAR satellite
With 11 launches scheduled worldwide, this week’s launch roundup is among the busiest of 2025 so far. SpaceX is expected to conduct four missions with the workhorse Falcon 9, including the crewed Crew-11 mission to the International Space Station. Blue Origin’s New Shepard took six humans to suborbital space this week. Internationally, the first-ever domestically…
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China Roundup: Third successful EVA and deep-space ambitions as China’s space economy surges
The Shenzhou-19 crew recently conducted their third spacewalk this month as the China National Space Administration announced it is open to including international scientific payloads aboard a forthcoming Mars mission. Meanwhile, bold plans for planetary exploration have been revealed and a design has emerged for a new space telescope with a familiar design. The commercial…
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China Roundup: Commercial launch providers drive forward reusability with more VTVL tests
Private Chinese launch providers continue to march at pace toward reusability, with two companies performing test high-altitude hops of their Vertical Takeoff and Vertical Landing (VTVL) prototype vehicles. Landspace achieved a 10 km altitude flight in late August with its ZhuQue-3 hopper prototype. This week, Deep Blue Aerospace flew its Xingyung-1 reusable test vehicle for…
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Launch Roundup: SpaceX on pace to hit 100 launches in 2023, Soyuz to launch Bars-M
Following a busy week for SpaceX with the launch of two Starlink missions and the second launch of Starship, SpaceX is currently on track to meet its 100 launch goal of 2023. The first launch of the week took place on Wednesday, with North Korea successfully placing the Manligyeong 1 satellite into orbit. Later that…
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Multiple remote sensing satellites launched from China, as launch cadence increases
With over 35 launches in 2023, China is on its way to returning to its high launch cadence after a slow start to the year. Launches in the past few days include two rockets outside the Chang Zheng family and the mighty Chang Zheng 3 B/E’s return as it flew for the fourth time this…
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Launch Roundup: SpaceX launches Starlink Group 6-10
Following a plethora of launches last week, the week of Aug. 14 through Aug. 20 only had three orbital launches—most of which are Chinese Starlink launches. The week started with the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC) launching the HEAD-3A/B/C/D/E satellites atop its Kuaxzhou 1A rocket. After that, SpaceX launched the Starlink Group 6-10…
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China details next generation crew launcher; Venezuela joins the Lunar base
China’s impressive launch cadence took a break in July 2023 with only three launches from Chinese pads in the month, with one being the high-profile second flight of ZhuQue-2. Additionally, China announced new rockets and launched Starlink-equivalent test satellites. Chang Zheng 2C/YZ-1S | 2 x SatNet test satellites Chang Zheng 2C (CZ-2C) took flight at…
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Launch Roundup: Rocket Lab conducts Electron reuse attempt, SpaceX flies two Starlink v2 missions
The week of July 16 through July 23 saw four more launches take place around the world, potentially increasing the orbital launch count to 108 so far in 2023. This included Rocket Lab’s launch of the “Baby Come Back” mission (which featured a first stage recovery attempt), two more SpaceX Starlink v2 missions, and the…
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LandSpace readies for second flight of ZhuQue-2 amid launch salvo
LandSpace has confirmed that the second methane-based ZhuQue-2 is fully assembled as the company gears up for its second launch campaign. After the initial first flight failure, this could mean a second attempt to get a methane-fueled rocket to orbit is approaching. While the debut flight of Tianlong-2 is slipping into April, China still launched…
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China conducts three launches with Shiyan and Yaogan satellites
China has launched three rockets, from two different launch sites, in under 50 hours. The first launch happened on Sunday, Sept. 24 at 22:55 UTC, with the Kuaizhou 1A rocket launching two Shiyan Weixing satellites. It was followed by two Chang Zheng missions, of which one also belongs to the Shiyan line, and one to…