Chinese Space Program

TheKutKu said:
10 days after Landspace, one of their competitor, Deep Blue Aerospace, attempted their own ~5km VTVL launch & recovery using their demonstrator.
Sadly it did not quite work out, while most of the flight went according to plan, up to a controlled hover with a 0.5m accuracy above the landing pad, an engine throttling failure caused it to then drop and do a hard landing. They say that they learnt a lot, we got some great drone shots, and they said they have a backup and are ready to try it again in November:

https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/jwYBZ1tlt9AcgtW2eG3gOg

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On July 31st, Deep Blue Aerospace attempted a flight of their second model of this hopper on their private launch pad in Inner Mongolia (41°43'35.63"N, 101° 5'38.10"E). Unfortunately it ended in failure with the rocket crashing 630m away from the pad. So far the company has not publicised anything, and all informations come from rumors and satellite pictures.
It is unclear how high the flight was supposed to be, although various rumors point toward a higher attempt than the first one (3km). The size of the burn mark likely mean that no Flight termination system was activated during the attempt.
DeepBlueAerospace_crash.jpg
The second hopper had been delivered in December. It was originally supposed to fly in late winter but the attempt had been delayed for unknown reasons. This second hopper was supposed to precede an orbital launch attempt with a full scale vehicle at the end of the year.

In more positive news, the past week saw two return to flight of launchers after failures:
-iSpace's Hyperbola-1 small solid launcher carrying a commercial earth observation satellite after Last July's failure
-CASIC/ExPace's Kuaizhou 1A (in its recent "pro" variant) small solid launcher carrying a Chinese-built Pakistani earth observation satellite after March's mysterious failure (few actual informations have been disclosed since, but a commemorative card did confirm a launch was attempted on that day)

The past week also saw the 2nd launch of the CZ-8A medium launcher carrying Guowang satellites, which is the first succesful launch from the Hainan Commercial space center after 3 aborted launch campaigns through the spring, which may pave the way for a faster deployment rate of the chinese national LEO constellation.
 
China wants to return samples from Mars. Will there be any international cooperation?

Given that China is moving forward on a specialized facility for that country's Mars Sample Return (MSR) project, some experts are wondering: Should their handling and containment construction plans and ideas undergo international inspection? What about verifying China's MSR facilities and research tactics; are they up to snuff by standards promoted by NASA and other outside organizations? Could that be an approach to promote working together?
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Athena Coustenis is chair of the Panel on Planetary Protection within the Committee on Space Research (COSPAR). Dedicated to promoting international scientific research in space, COSPAR is a forum open to scientists for exchanging results, information and opinions, as well as discussing problems that may affect space research.
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"I have recently been in China meeting with the China Association for Science and Technology (CAST) and their Mars sample return mission (Tianwen-3) is progressing nicely," Coustenis told Space.com.

"We have had presentations on that campaign," Coustenis said. "They have taken into account the scientific goals and engineering constraints. They have different sampling capabilities and launch scenarios. Their plan is to launch sometime in the 2028-2030 timeframe and they are tackling several technical challenges. They invite international collaboration," she said.
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China is constructing a specialized MSR facility on the outskirts of Hefei, the capital of Anhui, China. Within that facility, freshly-sent samples from Mars by the Tianwen-3 mission would undergo comprehensive biochemical and pathological testing, say Chinese specialists, under strict isolation from the Earth's environment.

Zengqian Hou of the Institute of Deep Space Sciences and its Deep Space Exploration Laboratory in Hefei, China reported on their MSR endeavors in a recent paper published in the journal Nature Astronomy.
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Conley suspects any proposal to implement international oversight of planetary protection compliance would fall on completely deaf ears.

"It's undeniable that having effective international oversight of what's called 'restricted Earth Return containment compliance' would reduce risk to the Earth," Conley said.

"But even if implementation were attempted, how likely is it that international inspectors would get an accurate view? Better to acknowledge the potential for problems clearly, than encourage misplaced confidence in things we don't actually know," concluded Conley.
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https://www.space.com/astronomy/mar...s-will-there-be-any-international-cooperation
 
publiusr said:
This is why you support national space programs with real funds--without regard to whatever a wunderkind wants
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Show us on the doll where Space Hitler touched you. (If you were actually interested in efficiency you'd have argued for SLS to get the chop years ago. Did you?)
 
cattalonX said:
View attachment 781272Maybe some kind test of the Long March 10
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Succesful static fire of the 3/4 length test article of a Long March 10 first stage on August 15th on the LC-301 launch pad. The test duration was 30s, thrust was 892.2tf, it used 7 YF-100K engines.
https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/os7dgh4260-bxFOTE6eqyg
Close up view of the test article:

1755386420513.jpeg
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Render of the CZ-10 familly of launcher, the larger CZ-10 will launch the Lanyue lunar lander and Mengzhou-Y capsule to the moon, and the smaller, reusable CZ-10A will launch Mengzhou and Tianzhou to Tiangong
1755386519758.jpeg
From Blogger/Photographer group spacelens, comparison of the size of the 5m wide, 25m tall,test article with the full CZ-10A
1755386595874.png
The test article will be repurposed as a flight test article and may be used for the "low altitude test flight" in the upcoming months: a test of the Recovery of the CZ-10A first stage using a cable recovery mechanism on an offshore barge

In other news, Landspace's Zhuque-2E failed on the 3rd launch of the variant (6th of the general launcher) on August 15th, it likely carried technological demonstrators for the Guowang constellation. The investigation is ongoing but it seems to be a second stage failure. This may impact the maiden launch of the Zhuque-3 reusable launcher, as well as Landspace's plans for an IPO
 
Just saw this,
https://spacenutspod.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F792581505716273152
View: https://www.tumblr.com/spacenutspod/792581505716273152/read-more?source=share


Direct link to article, with quote from it.

Spacesuit milestone reached with 20 spacewalks on Chinese station
by Riko Seibo
Tokyo, Japan (SPX) Aug 21, 2025

https://www.spacedaily.com/reports/...ith_20_spacewalks_on_Chinese_station_999.html
This accomplishment marks the first time a Chinese spacesuit has met its extended service goal of sustaining 20 EVAs within four years. The suit has been worn by 11 astronauts across eight manned missions, demonstrating both reliability and durability.

An EVA suit is essential for astronaut safety and productivity during operations outside the cabin. China's second-generation Feitian spacesuit is designed for three years of orbital storage and at least 15 EVAs, surpassing the original specifications in the case of suit B.

In addition to extending use, the spacesuit program also represents China's first in-orbit assessment of product lifespan. New EVA suits, designated D and E, were delivered by the Tianzhou 9 cargo craft on July 15. After inspection, both were found in good condition and will gradually replace older units in upcoming missions.
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Also just seen via same Tumblr blogger,

AI assistant supports Chinese space station astronauts
by Riko Seibo
Tokyo, Japan (SPX) Aug 21, 2025

https://www.spacedaily.com/reports/AI_assistant_supports_Chinese_space_station_astronauts_999.html
The crew of China's Tiangong space station recently conducted their third spacewalk with the help of a new artificial intelligence system named Wukong AI, marking the first use of a large-scale AI model aboard the orbital complex.

Delivered by the Tianzhou 9 cargo craft on July 15, Wukong AI arrived along with upgraded spacesuits, fresh produce, and other supplies. The system, named after the Monkey King from the classic novel Journey to the West, is based on a domestic open-source AI model tailored for aerospace applications.

According to the China Astronaut Research and Training Center, the model features a domain-specific language system and a knowledge base focused on human spaceflight standards. It has been running in orbit for one month and has assisted the Shenzhou XX crew in mission planning and operations.

During preparations for Friday's spacewalk, mission commander Senior Colonel Chen Dong and astronaut Colonel Wang Jie requested activity schedules from Wukong AI, which rapidly provided detailed instructions. "The content it offered is highly comprehensive," Wang said.

Zou Pengfei, a researcher at the center, explained that Wukong AI integrates both ground and orbital models into a unified intelligent question-answering system. The ground-based component performs deeper analysis, while the in-orbit module delivers quick solutions to complex tasks.
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Scott Manley has just released a video about what the PRC's plan is to beat the US back to the Moon:


In recent months we've seen China making various critical steps to develop the Long March 10, Mengzhou and Lanyue with the goal of putting Chinese astronauts on the Moon. As it stands this would be a huge prestige win for China as it's set to be the second nation to put humans on the lunar surface.​
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But with the US program repeatedly seeing dates moved back from the overly ambitious 2024 towards the end of the decade there's chance that further delays could see the US return to the moon to see China already there. That would be an even bigger win on the global stage very much at America's expense.​
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I don't think it'll happen, but I wanted to lay out what China's plan is right now, and their launch vehicles which will be used for this.
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I just did a text search of the (in)famous 2025 "Mandate for Leadership Conservative Promise" document, and the one single vaguely relevant quote is "the Artemis program to land the next Americans on the moon" (note Moon is spelled in all lowercase...).
 
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I just hope to live to see the day when someone discovers/identifies a physical orbital killer app that everyone with a launch vehicle and orbital vehicle at the more or less ready will scramble to try to secure first - capitalism, baby! (And I still *hate* popcorn...)
 

China proposes flyby mission to asteroid Apophis during 2029 Earth encounter
by Andrew Jones September 9, 2025

HELSINKI — Chinese scientists are proposing using a pathfinder spacecraft to make a flyby of asteroid Apophis when it makes a close approach to Earth in 2029.

The team behind the concept are proposing a pathfinder spacecraft flyby of asteroid Apophis during its close Earth approach, leveraging a proposed mission to deploy asteroid-spotting spacecraft in Venus-like orbits.

The mission would consist of two small satellites sent into a halo orbit around Sun-Earth Lagrange point 1 to await the approach of Apophis and transfer into a flyby orbit so as to meet the asteroid shortly after its close encounter with the Earth. The asteroid is due to pass within the geosynchronous orbit belt on Friday, April 13, 2029.

The CROWN/Apophis concept tags onto a proposed asteroid surveyor mission. That mission, named CROWN and for which the preliminary design is completed, would consist of six heterogeneous wide-field near-Earth surveyors in Venus-like, heliocentric orbits and proposes to substantially improve the searching and tracking of NEAs. It would, if approved, form part of China’s assets for a planned comprehensive planetary defense program.

The science objectives of CROWN/Apophis, according to Jian-Yang Li of Sun Yat-sen University, who presented the proposal at the Europlanet Science Congress (EPSC) and Division for Planetary Sciences (DPS) joint session in Helsinki, Sept. 8, would be to measure the fundamental properties of a potentially hazardous asteroid and the effects of its close encounter with planet Earth. It would aim to observe how movement of material on Apophis is induced, any dust activity, and how it interacts with the terrestrial magnetosphere.
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https://spacenews.com/china-proposes-flyby-mission-to-asteroid-apophis-during-2029-earth-encounter/
 
Two recent static fires of new heavy reusable launchers:
CALT conducted a second 7 engines static fire of the Long March 10 test article on September 12th, this static fire simulated the return process of a Long March 10 stage,

https://twitter.com/x/status/1967142468283232516
View: https://x.com/CNSAWatcher/status/1967142468283232516



Long March 10 will do a "downrange" landing on a ship with a cable catch system
CZ10Aburns.png
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Today 15th Space Pioneer (Tianbing Technology) re-conducted a Static fire of the 1st stage of the Tianlong 3 RLV, this happens 15 months after the failed static fire; in the meanwhile they have also built a proprietary launch site in Jiuquan, they aim for an inaugural orbital launch there before the end of the year.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1967513281997967871
View: https://x.com/raz_liu/status/1967513281997967871

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