Chinese Space Program

A Chinese spacecraft built to collect specimens from an unexplored asteroid and return them to Earth successfully launched Wednesday from a military-run spaceport in the country's mountainous interior.

Liftoff aboard a Long March 3B rocket at 1:31 pm EDT (17:31 UTC) from the Xichang launch base kicked off the second mission in a series of Chinese probes to explore the Solar System. This mission, designated Tianwen-2, follows the Tianwen-1 mission, which became the first Chinese spacecraft to land on Mars in 2021.

Chinese officials confirmed the 2.1-metric ton Tianwen-2 spacecraft unfurled its fan-shaped solar arrays shortly after launch, marking an auspicious start to a decade-long tour of the Solar System.
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arstechnica.com

China extends its reach into the Solar System with launch of asteroid mission

Tianwen-2 will first return samples from an asteroid, then explore a mysterious comet-like object.
arstechnica.com arstechnica.com
 
Andrew Jones
@AJ_FI
Tianwen-3 update: China's Mars sample return mission will launch in late 2028 and seek to return at least 500 grams of samples. Sampling will use combo of surface scooping, deep drilling and drone-assisted sampling. Mission will also strictly adhere to planetary protection protocols. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41550-025-02572-0
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Breakdown of China's Tianwen-3 Mars sample return mission.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1935683182319255728
View: https://twitter.com/AJ_FI/status/1935683182319255728
 
Succesful static fire of the 1st stage of the reusable Zhuque-3 launcher by Landspace.

This is a test model, the flight model is undergoing final integration and is expected to be launched in the 4th quarter of the year. The first version of the launcher will weight 570t, be 66m long (4.5m diameter) and have a reusable LEO payload of 6t, further improvements, including engine uprating and lengthening will bring that reusable payload to 18t

The static fire happened at Landspace's new LC96B pad at Jiuquan

https://twitter.com/x/status/1935954478131482926
View: https://x.com/CNSpaceflight/status/1935954478131482926



006aWhMSgy1i2lonng3bvj32m44i57wj.jpg translated.jpg 006aWhMSgy1i2lp4ucu61j331z22nkjm.jpg
 
TheKutKu said:
Quick list of Chinese "Falcon-like" next generation medium and heavy launchers:
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One year later, here's an updated chart showing the various near-term RLV projects in china and their current progress:

rect2606_2.png

A few (IMO the first 3) still have a shot at launching this year, maybe.
Reliably launching, recovering and reusing them and increasing the cadence to a rate that truly takes advantage of reuse will probably take years, however.
 
Articles concerning Tianwen-3 Mars sample return.

China’s Mars Sample Return – Is the U.S. Forfeiting its Red Planet Leadership?

www.leonarddavid.com www.leonarddavid.com

China’s Tianwen-3 Mission Could Beat the U.S. in the Race to Grab Mars Rocks

www.yahoo.com

China’s Tianwen-3 Mission Could Beat the U.S. in the Race to Grab Mars Rocks

On May 14, 2021, China’s Tianwen-1 lander plummeted from space to streak through the skies above Mars’s vast plain of Utopia Planitia, with an aeroshell protecting it from the heat and plasma of its high-speed atmospheric entry. After unfurling its parachutes and pulsing its engines to zero in...
www.yahoo.com www.yahoo.com
 
www.spacedaily.com

International deep space alliance launched in Hefei China

The International Deep Space Exploration Association (IDSEA), the first global scientific body solely focused on deep space initiatives, was officially inaugurated Monday in Hefei, Anhui province. Over 100 participants, including scientists and officials from the China National Space...
www.spacedaily.com www.spacedaily.com
International deep space alliance launched in Hefei China
by Simon Mansfield
Sydney, Australia (SPX) Jul 08, 2025

The International Deep Space Exploration Association (IDSEA), the first global scientific body solely focused on deep space initiatives, was officially inaugurated Monday in Hefei, Anhui province.
Over 100 participants, including scientists and officials from the China National Space Administration (CNSA), Ministry of Civil Affairs, Anhui provincial authorities, China Association for Science and Technology, and foreign embassies, attended the launch ceremony. Sixteen international organizations-among them the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs and the International Astronautical Federation-joined over 70 agencies, universities, and institutions in sending congratulatory remarks.

IDSEA is the result of a multi-year collaborative effort led by four Chinese institutions: the Deep Space Exploration Laboratory, the Lunar Exploration and Space Program Center of the CNSA, the Chinese Society of Astronautics, and the Chinese Society of Space Research. The French-led initiative "Planetary Exploration, Horizon 2061" also contributed to its formation.

Following more than two years of groundwork and endorsements from 20 Chinese academicians and 31 international scientists, the association secured State Council approval in April and officially registered with the Ministry of Civil Affairs. IDSEA is the first international science organization headquartered in Anhui.

A formal statement underscored President Xi Jinping's emphasis on deep space research as a collective human venture. He has called for persistent progress in interplanetary missions, and the creation of the IDSEA is seen as a direct response to this vision.

The founding conference also ratified the association's charter and elected its inaugural council. Wu Weiren, chief architect of China's lunar program and a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, will serve as IDSEA's first president.

The association aims to advance research in lunar science, planetary exploration, asteroid hazard mitigation, and related disciplines. Its launch signals China's growing role in global space collaboration and reflects the shared innovation goals of the international community.
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Succesful launch by CZ-7 at 21:34 UTC then docking at 00:52 UTC of the Tianzhou-9 cargo spacecraft to the Tiangong Space Station.

Tianzhou-9 carries 6.5 tons of supplies, and particularly two new Feitian spacesuits that will replace two others that had reached the end of their extended lifetime (19 EVA) and were disposed of with the Tianzhou 8 cargo last week (one suit remained on the station).

For the first time CMSA had the next Tianzhou (10 in this case) already assembled & tested in Beijing and ready to be shipped if there ever was a need for a backup.
 

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cattalonX said:
View attachment 778063
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Here's a few pictures of the Ceres-2 TEL, with a weighted model on it.

1752763010168.png
1752764834428.png
I think that despite looking similar to Kinetica 2/Jielong 3 it is a bit smaller, with 100t mass at liftoff vs ~140tf for the other two, the lower stage diameter is also smaller, likely around 2.2-2.3m vs 2.6m, and it reportedly uses a liquid-fueled 4th stage unlike the two other launchers.

Announced payload is also lower, 1.3t to SSO vs 1.6t to SSO for the other two (1.6t to LEO for Ceres-2). It is supposed to be launched both from a barge and over land (from Jiuquan), like Ceres-1.

There is a distinct lack of hardware footage for this Ceres-2, while it's not exactly surprising, especially since it likely uses CASC-provided Solid rocket motors which are likely tested at CASC facilities, it does put some doubt on the advancement of the project, officialy this rocket is supposed to fly at the end of august, but Galactic Energy is not particularly punctual...

It also doesn't help that Galactic Energy regularly advertise their absurd plan to launch this 100t rocket at "supersonic speed" using an electromagnetic catapult/mass driver to "double its payload".

As for the "Pallas-2", it keeps growing, originally it was supposed to be a "tri-core" version of the ⌀3.35m Pallas-1, with a liftoff mass of 550t, then it grew to a tricore, ⌀3.8m version of Pallas 1 that kept its engine bay but with larger tanks, with a mass of 1196t, now it seems to be almost as heavy as the Lunar CZ-10 rocket, and likely ⌀4.5-5m... They're clearly still at the trade studies stage, which directly contradicts some of their wild claim of launching this rocket in "H1 2026"

In reality their Soyuz-class Pallas-1 RLV is currently in the engine integration phase of its 1st flight model, ahead of a static fire and, officialy, a launch at the end of the year. On the bright side they seem to be on track with their annual plan of their "Ceres-1" Electron-class launcher, with 4 launches (with a 5th one expected in the upcoming weeks) out of the 8 planned this year.
 
TheKutKu said:
Here's a few pictures of the Ceres-2 TEL, with a weighted model on it.

View attachment 778080
View attachment 778083
I think that despite looking similar to Kinetica 2/Jielong 3 it is a bit smaller, with 100t mass at liftoff vs ~140tf for the other two, the lower stage diameter is also smaller, likely around 2.2-2.3m vs 2.6m, and it reportedly uses a liquid-fueled 4th stage unlike the two other launchers.

Announced payload is also lower, 1.3t to SSO vs 1.6t to SSO for the other two (1.6t to LEO for Ceres-2). It is supposed to be launched both from a barge and over land (from Jiuquan), like Ceres-1.

There is a distinct lack of hardware footage for this Ceres-2, while it's not exactly surprising, especially since it likely uses CASC-provided Solid rocket motors which are likely tested at CASC facilities, it does put some doubt on the advancement of the project, officialy this rocket is supposed to fly at the end of august, but Galactic Energy is not particularly punctual...

It also doesn't help that Galactic Energy regularly advertise their absurd plan to launch this 100t rocket at "supersonic speed" using an electromagnetic catapult/mass driver to "double its payload".

As for the "Pallas-2", it keeps growing, originally it was supposed to be a "tri-core" version of the ⌀3.35m Pallas-1, with a liftoff mass of 550t, then it grew to a tricore, ⌀3.8m version of Pallas 1 that kept its engine bay but with larger tanks, with a mass of 1196t, now it seems to be almost as heavy as the Lunar CZ-10 rocket, and likely ⌀4.5-5m... They're clearly still at the trade studies stage, which directly contradicts some of their wild claim of launching this rocket in "H1 2026"

In reality their Soyuz-class Pallas-1 RLV is currently in the engine integration phase of its 1st flight model, ahead of a static fire and, officialy, a launch at the end of the year. On the bright side they seem to be on track with their annual plan of their "Ceres-1" Electron-class launcher, with 4 launches (with a 5th one expected in the upcoming weeks) out of the 8 planned this year.
Click to expand...
And they plan to launch some Ceres-2 (or was it just Ceres-1?) rocket with electromagnetic catapult.
 
4e50f23e1450dcabb164cc784dcc422f.png 1752778234593.png 1752778257302.png

【8K】当天舟九号遇上世纪朝霞_哔哩哔哩_bilibili

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Sferrin said:
The similarities are. . . uncanny.

Click to expand...

True, however I think this is a classic case of form following function as there are only so many ways you can configure a tractor-style LAS, China no doubt paid close attention to both the Orion pad-abort test and the max-Q abort test while also reading all of the publicly available NASA technical reports.​
 
Grey Havoc said:
spacenews.com

How China will own the moon — unless we act now

How China will own the moon — unless we act now
spacenews.com spacenews.com
Click to expand...
Just found this,

www.linkedin.com

How China will own the Moon — unless we act now (Published in Space News July 20, 2025)

NOTE: I just published this in SpaceNews—and yes, they have a paywall (kind of..
www.linkedin.com www.linkedin.com
NOTE: I just published this in SpaceNews—and yes, they have a paywall (kind of... you get three free articles a week, plus summaries). But to help it reach as far as possible, I’m re-posting it here in full.

I still encourage you to subscribe to SpaceNews—nobody does deeper, better coverage of the government/industry space scene.

Want the original? Here you go: https://spacenews.com/how-china-will-own-the-moon-unless-we-act-now/

(And yes, since I’m not bound by AP style here, I get to capitalize Moon, as it should be. )
Click to expand...
 

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