Long March 12B development was absolutely rapid: "Engineers completed the entire process, from initial design studies to final product development, in just 21 months, setting a new record for the development cycle of a new Chinese launch vehicle." news.cgtn.com/news/2026-06...
Tianwen-2 at #Asteroid (469219) Kamoʻoalewa now transmitting at High Data Rate!! Receiving with the 20m #Bochum antenna on X-Band.
Tianwen-2 at AOS after arriving at Asteroid AST469219. We are also live streaming on our Youtube channel.
A Long March 5 lifted off at 0730 UTC today from Wenchang spaceport, successfully inserting the classified experimental TJS-25 satellite into orbit.
The next CZ-5 will be the launch of the Chang'e-7 lunar landing mission in August. m.spacechina.com/n2014789/n20...
Now on @sciam.bsky.social: China’s Tianwen-2 spacecraft is prepping for a close encounter on July 4 with near-Earth asteroid and “quasi-moon” Kamo‘oalewa. Tianwen-2 will seek to grab samples from the small, enigmatic space rock for return to Earth in 2027.
www.scientificamerican.com/article/chin...
The Tianwen-2 spacecraft is slowly closing in on the near-Earth asteroid Kamo‘oalewa, on a mission that would bring China’s first asteroid samples back to Earth in 2027
www.scientificamerican.com
A quick, vague but authoritative update on Tianwen-2. As earlier thought, the spacecraft will arrive at Kamo'oalewa in July (expected July 4, according to prior info). No info on the burn we anticipated (and tracked by AMSAT-DL) on June 7.
Cosmoleap announces progress on its Qingyu-11 150-tonne-class methane-liquid oxyge engine, with torch ignition, cryogenic and fluid flow tests. Aiming for hot-fire tests in second half of the year. mp.weixin.qq.com/s/F15ALetEXb...
Next Zhuque-2E is set to launch ~0820 UTC June 9, less than a month after launch testing a payload adapter for Qianfan satellites. Zhuque-3 Y2 is also at Jiuquan ahead of a second first stage recovery attempt.
Long March 5 rolled out at Wenchang today. Launch on June 10.
Tianwen-2 launched just over a year ago and is expected to perform a burn tomorrow (June 7) Beijing time, setting up a rendezvous with the small, rapidly-spinning asteroid Kamo'oalewa.
AMSAT-DL
AMSAT-DL
Andrew Jones
Andrew Jones
Andrew Jones
Andrew Jones
Andrew Jones
Andrew Jones
Lee Billings
Andrew Jones
Well, this was wild. The first Long March 12B rocket lifted off at 0840 UTC today from Dongfeng test zone at Jiuquan. No warning, and carrying Qianfan constellation satellites straight off the bat. Successfully reached orbit, but no recovery test today. mp.weixin.qq.com/s/3OfILgO9Zu...
Andrew Jones
Tianwen-2 is a Chinese asteroid sampling mission. Asteroid 469219 Kamo'oalewa Orbit insertion is planned for June 7, 2026. 📡〰️Received with our 20m Bochum antenna.
AMSAT-DL
Looks like we've got ourselves a random, no-warning debut launch of the reusable Long March 12B rocket on our hands
Video
Andrew Jones
Landspace launches improved Zhuque-2E, Long March 6A lofts new Qianfan satellite group
China has added a new batch of satellites to the Qianfan megaconstellation, while the commercial Zhuque-2E made a return-to-flight featuring numerous improvements.
Cosmoleap secures $73 million for reusable rocket with tower catch recovery
Chinese launch startup Cosmoleap has secured significant funding for its reusable rocket plans as it works towards a debut launch in 2027.
China has added a new batch of satellites to the Qianfan megaconstellation, while the commercial Zhuque-2E made a return-to-flight featuring numerous improvements.
With the 25m Dwingeloo radio telescope, we just tracked #Tianwen-2 on X-band. It was at an offset of 1.1 degrees from asteroid Kamo'oalewa, which it is going to visit. We recorded IQ data, maybe others can decode this (@destevez.net, @aang23.satdump.org?). Data at data.camras.nl/satellites/r....
SpaceNews
SpaceNews
Radiotelescoop Dwingeloo
The Chang'e-7 spacecraft arrived at Wenchang spaceport on April 9. The robotic lunar south pole landing mission will be prepared for launch for the second half of 2026, according to CMSEO. mp.weixin.qq.com/s/B8Hh_lCU43...
