China had a highly successful 2022 in space as it completed initial construction of its Tiangong space station, launched two crews to occupy it, and set a new national record with 64 launch attempts.

Xinhua reports that a new Smart Dragon-1 booster launched three satellites into orbit from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on its maiden flight. The rocket, developed by the China Rocket Co. Ltd. affiliated to the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALVT), blasted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China at 12:11 p.m. (Beijing Time). The three satellites, respectively developed by three Beijing-based companies, will be used […]