China Space Mission

China's Shenzhou 21 docks with space station in 3.5 hrs, sets speed record

China announced Saturday that its Shenzhou 21 spaceship docked with China's space station with its latest three rotation crew at a record speed after its successful launch. The entire docking process lasted around 3.5 hours three hours shorter than the previous missions, according to China Manned Space Agency. The Shenzhou 21 spaceship took off as planned at 11:44 pm local time Friday from the Jiuquan launch centre in northwestern China. The three astronauts on Shenzhou 21 will enter the Tianhe core module of the space station. The crew includes pilot and mission commander Zhang Lu, who also was on the Shenzhou 15 mission to the space station two years ago. The other two are flying for the first time. Wu Fei, 32, an engineer, is the country's youngest astronaut to join a spaceflight. Zhang Hongzhang is a payload specialist who was a researcher focusing on new energy and new materials before becoming an astronaut. Zhang said the team would turn the space station into a utopia by d

China on track to land astronauts on moon by 2030, ahead of space mission

China said Thursday it's on track to land astronauts on the moon by 2030 as it introduced the next crew of astronauts who will head to its space station as part of the country's ambitious plans to be a leader in space exploration. Currently, each programme of the research and development work of putting a person on the moon is progressing smoothly, said Zhang Jingbo, spokesman for the China Manned Space Programme, citing the Long March 10 rocket, moon landing suits and exploration vehicle, as fruitful efforts of that work. Our fixed goal of China landing a person on the moon by 2030 is firm." China is also preparing to send up its latest rotation of astronauts who make up part of the ongoing mission to complete the Tiangong space station, part of its broader space exploration plans. Each team stays inside the station for six months, conducting research. The latest crew joining others on the station will be made up of Zhang Lu, Wu Fei and Zhang Hongzhang. They will take off from the

China bets on reusable rockets as Tianlong-3 passes 1,000-tonne thrust test

China's private start-ups and state space contractor race to build reusable rockets to deploy massive satellite constellations amid a launch shortage

Nasa shuts access for Chinese nationals as US eyes upper hand in moon race

Nasa has barred Chinese nationals from its facilities and networks, reviving a Cold War-style rivalry with Beijing as both nations race to put more astronauts on the moon within the decade

Duffy vows Nasa will beat China to moon, says 'I'll be damned' if not

During the meeting, Duffy addressed testimony from Wednesday's Senate Commerce Committee hearing that highlighted concerns over Nasa's ability to return humans to the surface of the moon before China

China's Tianlong-3 rocket cleared for commercial launch a year after crash

Chinese space tech firm Space Pioneer passes critical test of its redesigned Tianlong-3 rocket after a year of its launch accident. It has set a tentative launch date for July-August 2025

China's space militarisation moving 'breathtakingly fast': US Space Force

USSF Commander General Stephen Whiting cited China's satellite capabilities, counter-space weapons, and battlefield integration as one of the most pressing concerns for the Indo-Pacific region

Chinese astronauts return to earth after 6-month stint in space station

Three Chinese astronauts who spent six months developing China's low orbit space station returned to Earth safely early Monday, the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) said. The capsule of the spaceship Shenzhou-18' carrying astronauts Ye Guangfu, Li Cong and Li Guangsu, touched down at the Dongfeng landing site in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region at 1:24 am (Beijing Time). The three astronauts, after staying in orbit for 192 days, were all in good health and the Shenzhou-18 manned mission was a success, the CMSA said. Ye, the Shenzhou-18 mission commander, has become the first Chinese astronaut with an accumulative spaceflight time of more than a year, setting a new record for the longest duration of stay in orbit by a Chinese astronaut. He served as a crew member in the Shenzhou-13 mission from October 2021 to April 2022. "Chinese astronauts have flown to space in successive missions. I believe that the record of the duration in orbit will be broken in the near future

China announces fourth manned mission to space station with new crew

China on Tuesday announced plans to launch its fourth manned mission to replace the crew of its space station and named a three-member squad, including a woman, to man the low-orbit station for the next six months. China's crewed spaceship Shenzhou-19 is scheduled to be launched at 4.27 a.m.(Beijing Time) on Wednesday from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in the country's northwest, the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) announced. The launch will use a Long March-2F carrier rocket, said Lin Xiqiang, the deputy director of CMSA, at a press conference at the Jiuquan centre. Shenzhou-19 is the 33rd flight mission of China's manned space programme and the fourth manned mission during the application and development stage of China's space station. After entering orbit, the Shenzhou-19 spaceship will perform a fast-automated rendezvous and docking with the front port of the space station core module Tianhe in about 6.5 hours, forming a combination of three modules and three spacecraft,

China plans to turn its feats in space exploration into scientific advances

China has made great strides in exploring space in recent years, rocketing astronauts to its own space station and bringing back rocks from the moon. Now it wants to turn those feats into scientific advances. The nation's leading scientific institute laid out an ambitious plan on Tuesday to become a global leader in space science by 2050. It listed a wide range of research areas including black holes, Mars and Jupiter, and the search for habitable planets and signs of extraterrestrial life. Our country's space science research in general is still in an initial stage, Ding Chibiao, a vice president of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said at a news conference. It's a weakness that must be addressed on the path of building an aerospace power. The plan, jointly issued with the China National Space Administration and the China Manned Space Engineering Office, set a goal of making landmark achievements with significant international influence that drive breakthroughs in innovation and ..

Chang'e-7 mission: Egypt, Bahrain join China to build hyperspectral camera

The Egyptian Space Agency, Bahrain's National Space Science Agency, and Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics signed an agreement for the joint development of hyperspectral camera

China's Chang'e-6 spacecraft makes historic landing on far side of moon

The China National Space Administration announced that Chang'e-6 "successfully landed at the designated landing area," the Xinhua News Agency reported

China sending probe to get samples from less-explored far side of moon

China is preparing to launch a lunar probe on Friday that would land on the far side of the moon and return with samples that could provide insights into geological and other differences between the less-explored region and the better-known near side. The unprecedented mission would be the latest advance in the increasingly sophisticated and ambitious space exploration program that is now competing with the US, still the leader in space. China already landed a rover on the moon's far side in 2019, the first country to do so. Free from exposure to Earth and other interference, the moon's somewhat mysterious far side is ideal for radio astronomy and other scientific work. Because the far side never faces Earth, a relay satellite is a needed to maintain communications. The Chang'e lunar exploration probe is named after the Chinese mythical moon goddess. The probe is being carried on a Long March-5 YB rocket set for liftoff on Friday evening from the Wenchang launch centre on the south

China set to launch Chang'e-6 robotic spacecraft to 'dark' side of moon

Chang'e-6 will rely on a relay satellite orbiting the moon for communication with the earth, and the mission involves an ascent from the moon's 'hidden' side during the return journey

China launches 3-member Shenzhou-18 crew to its Tiangong space station

The Shenzhou-18 spacecraft, along with its three passengers, launched atop a Long March-2F rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in northwest China on Thursday

China says it will launch its next lunar explorer in the first half of 2024

China's space agency said on Wednesday that its latest lunar explorer had arrived at the launch site in preparation for a mission to the moon in the first half of this year. State broadcaster CCTV posted photos on its website of the unit under wraps as it was unloaded from a large cargo airplane earlier this week and then transported by flatbed truck to the Wenchang launch site on southern China's Hainan island. The announcement came a day after a US company abandoned a lunar landing planned for February 23 because of a fuel leak that started soon after takeoff on Monday. China and the US are both pursuing plans to land astronauts on the moon in what has become a growing rivalry in space. The US plans to do so in 2026, and China's target date is before 2030. The China National Space Administration said that pre-launch tests would be carried out on its Chang'e-6 probe. The mission's goals include bringing back samples from the far side of the moon. Another US moon lander from a Hou

With Zhuque-2, China blasts off world's first methane-powered rocket

The successful launch of LandSpace's Zhuque-2 puts China ahead of rivals such as Elon Musk's SpaceX and Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin

Xi's charm offensive turns to space as 'divine craft' launches: Report

The country plans to send Chinese astronauts to the moon by 2030, China Manned Space Agency official Lin Xiqiang said at a briefing on Monday

China launched new crew for space station, sending men to moon before 2030

China launched a new crew space station intending to put astronauts on the moon before the end of the decade. The crew will stay aboard the station for five months.

China successfully launches manned spaceship with first civilian on board

China on Tuesday successfully launched the Shenzhou-16 manned spaceship, sending three astronauts, including the first civilian to its space station combination for a five-month mission. The spaceship, atop a Long March-2F carrier rocket, blasted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in northwest China at 9:31 AM (Beijing Time), according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA). About 10 minutes after the launch, Shenzhou-16 separated from the rocket and entered its designated orbit. The crew members are in good shape and the launch is a complete success, the CMSA declared, it said. The astronauts are expected to dock with the station's Tianhe core module about 400km above the ground after a journey of less than seven hours. For the first time, China has included a civilian in its rotating crew for the space station which otherwise remained a domain of the military personnel. Gui Haichao, a professor at Beihang University in Beijing regarded as a payload specialist was am