Chinese launch startup Landspace is set to launch its methane-powered rocket early next month. This time, the Zhuque 2 (Vermillion Bird 2) rocket will be carrying satellites and aims to demonstrate its operational launch capabilities. The launch comes just under a year after its first Zhuque-2 launch which ended in failure. It bounced back with its second launch in July, successfully reaching orbit. That launch however carried only a mass simulator rather than active payloads. Related: China launches mystery satellite on Long March 7A rocket (photo) The 162 ft (49.5…
Read MoreTag: China Space Program
Rogue rocket that slammed into the moon last year confirmed to be Chinese vehicle
The case of the mysterious moon crash is now conclusively closed, a new study reports. On March 4, 2022, a rocket body slammed into the moon’s far side, blasting out a weird double crater about 95 feet (29 meters) wide. The crash did not come as a surprise; astronomers had been tracking the rogue rocket for weeks and predicted, with impressive accuracy, where and when it would slam into the lunar surface. The mystery involved the identity of the impactor, which astronomers designated WE0913A. Initial observations suggested it might be…
Read MoreChina launches mystery satellite on Long March 7A rocket (photo)
China launched what it describes as an experimental communications technology satellite late last week. A Long March 7A rocket lifted off from the coastal Wenchang Satellite Launch Center at 10:54 a.m. EDT (1454 GMT, or 10:54 p.m. Beijing Time) on Friday (Nov. 3). The payload was revealed to be Tongxin Jishu Shiyan Weixing-10 (TJS-10) by the state-owned China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) when the organization announced launch success within an hour of liftoff. Chinese state media outlet Xinhua described the satellite as being “mainly used for multi-band and…
Read MoreChina’s Shenzhou 16 astronauts apparently landed with a ripped parachute (photo)
China’s Shenzhou 16 astronauts landed safely on Earth this week despite an apparent hole appearing in their return capsule’s parachute. China Central Television (CCTV) aired video of the descent of Shenzhou 16 on Monday (Oct. 30) as the crewed spacecraft returned to Earth following five months in orbit docked with the Tiangong space station. In some of the footage, a patch of blue sky can be seen through the red-and-white-banded parachute. Inside the capsule were Shenzhou 16 mission commander Jing Haipeng and crewmates Zhu Yangzhu and Gui Haichao — the…
Read MoreChina’s Shenzhou 16 astronauts hand over Tiangong space station to new crew (video)
China’s space station has new occupants in charge. The departing Shenzhou 16 astronauts handed over control of the Tiangong space station to the newly arrived Shenzhou 17 crew during a short ceremony on Sunday (Oct. 29). “On behalf of the Shenzhou 16 crew, I formally and solemnly hand over [the key] to the commander of the Shenzhou 17 mission,” said Jing Haipeng, commander of the Shenzhou 16 mission. “I firmly believe, and all of us also believe, that under your leadership, your crew will cooperate closely, operate carefully, and complete…
Read MoreChina’s Shenzhou 17 astronauts arrive at Tiangong space station (video)
China’s newest astronaut crew has arrived at its orbital destination. The three spaceflyers of the Shenzhou 17 mission reached China’s Tiangong space station early Thursday morning (Oct. 26), just 6.5 hours or so after lifting off atop a Long March 2F rocket from the Gobi Desert. The trio soon joined the three Shenzhou 16 astronauts already aboard Tiangong, who greeted the newcomers with hugs as they came through the station’s hatch. The six spaceflyers then lined up to relay a message to Mission Control and the rest of us back…
Read More