Tag: Shijian
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China accelerates toward lunar goals as reusability programs gain momentum
China has conducted two spacewalks from its Tiangong space station in as many months and is advancing on its lunar exploration plans with a successful pad abort test of its crewed Mengzhou capsule. Meanwhile, an experimental spacecraft has made advances in in-space refueling. Meanwhile, the next generation of reusable Chinese commercial rockets, many of which…
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China Roundup: reusable satellites, lunar EVA suits, and expanding spaceports
As China prepares to increase its launch cadence further, there are plans to expand the facilities at both Xichang and Haiyang. Meanwhile, the first launch from the new Hainan commercial spaceport is expected very soon. Preparations are underway to launch the next crew to the Tiangong space station and return the trio of Shenzhou-18 taikonauts…
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China kicks off 2023 campaign with launch doubleheader
With two launches now under its belt, China joins the US as the second nation to have launched to orbit in 2023. First, the Shijian 23 payload lifted off at 22:00 UTC on Sunday onboard a Chang Zheng 7A from Wenchang. Just seven hours later, Gushenxing-1 carried the “Give Me Five” rideshare mission to orbit…
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Long March 4B with Shijian-6 Group 5 satellites launches successfully from Jiuquan
A Long March 4B reportedly carrying a pair of Chinese Shijian-6 Group 05 satellites has launched successfully from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in China’s Inner Mongolia region. The launch took place at 00:11 UTC (08:11 Beijing time) on Friday, December 10, from Site 9401 (SLS-2). Satellite launches from Jiuquan normally take place from this…
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Chang Zheng 3B lifts Shijian 21 to orbit
Without any prior announcements, China launched another Chang Zheng 3B/E rocket with the Shijian 21 payload to Geostationary Transfer Orbit (GTO). The rocket took off at 01:27 UTC on October 24 from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center’s LC-2. The launch was called a success two hours later and it was confirmed that the payload, Shijian…
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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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China’s highest-capacity communications satellite launched into orbit
A Long March 3B rocket blasted off Wednesday with China’s Shijian 13/Chinasat 16 communications satellite. Credit: Xinhua A Chinese Long March 3B rocket fired into space Wednesday with Shijian 13, also known as Chinasat 16, to deliver Internet connectivity to remote parts of China, airline travelers and high-speed trains. The Shijian 13 satellite also has…
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Chinese intelligence-gathering satellite launched by Long March 4B rocket
A Long March 4B rocket launched at 0321 GMT Wednesday (11:21 p.m. EDT Tuesday) with China’s second Shijian 16 satellite. Credit: Xinhua A Long March 4B rocket lifted off from a remote launch base in the Gobi Desert Wednesday and placed a secretive spacecraft in orbit 375 miles (600 kilometers) above Earth, likely adding a…