BEIJING (China Aerospace Science and Technology Group PR) — At 0:57 on October 12, at the Xichang Satellite Launch Center, the Long March 3B carrier rocket lifted the Gaofen 13 satellite into the sky. The satellite then entered the scheduled orbit, and the launch mission was a complete success. The Gaofen 13 satellite was developed by the Fifth Academy of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation. It is a high-orbit […]
by Douglas Messier
Managing Editor
A Kuaizhou 1A rocket failed to orbit the Jilin-1 Gaofen 02C optical remote-sensing satellite after liftoff from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China on Saturday afternoon.
The official Xinhua news agency attributed the failure to the “abnormal performance” of the launch vehicle. An investigation has commenced.
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by Douglas Messier
Managing Editor
China completed its Beidou satellite navigation system with a launch last week, fully standing up a rival to the American Global Positioning System (GPS), Europe’s Galileo constellation, and Russia’s GLONASS system and strengthening the nation as a space power.
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The week ahead features launches by Rocket Lab and SpaceX, Vega’s first rideshare mission, two Chinese launches, and a Japanese sounding rocket flight.
(more…)A Chinese Long March 3B booster failed after launch on Thursday, destroying an Indonesian communications satellite and providing a spectacular nighttime light show for residents of Guam as debris burned up in the atmosphere. China’s Xinhua news agency said the Long March 3B’s third stage malfunctioned after launch from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center. The booster was carrying the Palapa-N1 geosynchronous communications satellite. The spacecraft was owned by Palapa Satelit […]
China has launched a weather and two navigation satellites over the last several days. A Long March 2D rocket lifted off from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert carrying the Yunhai-1 (02) meteorological satellite on Wednesday. Yunhai-1 (02) was built by the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology. On Sunday, China launched a pair of satellites for its Beidou navigation system. A Long March 3B booster placed the Beidou-47 […]
China completed the first orbital launch of 2019 on Thursday as a Long March 3B booster orbited the Zhongxing-2D communications satellite from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwestern China.
China Daily said the Chang’e 4 spacecraft could land on the moon by Thursday. The Chang’e 4 robotic probe is expected to land on the South Pole–Aitken basin on the silver sphere’s far side sometime between Wednesday and Thursday, according to information from China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp, a major contractor of the country’s lunar exploration programs. The State-owned conglomerate previously said that the spacecraft would fly 26 days […]
The following is a list of launches for the remainder of November based on Spaceflightnow.com’s Launch Schedule. The list includes two launches from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California and one launch apiece from Xichang in China, Kourou in French Guiana, and Satish Dhawan in India. Please check Spaceflightnow’s launch page regularly because launches tend to slip on a regular basis. Editor’s Note: The SpaceX Falcon 9 launch scheduled for […]
China set a new national record for the number of launches in a calendar year. A Long March 3B booster lifted off from Xichang Satellite Launch Center with two Beidou navigation satellites bound for medium Earth orbit. It was the 23rd successful launch of the year with no failures. To date, China has launched six boosters with 11 Beidou satellites aboard in 2018. The navigation satellite system, which is similar […]
