China's Space Program Thread II
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by78
General
China has officially confirmed that the DRO constellation of three satellites (DRO-A, -B, and -L) are in operation. Considerable difficulties had to be overcome due to an upper stage problem that led to a lower than planned orbit for DRO-A and -B, not to mention damage to DRO-A's solar array.
escobar
Brigadier
China prepares to launch Shenzhou-20 crewed spaceship
Source: XinhuaEditor: huaxia
2025-04-16 20:40:45
JIUQUAN, April 16 (Xinhua) -- The combination of the Shenzhou-20 crewed spaceship and a Long March-2F carrier rocket has been transferred to the launching area, the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) said on Wednesday.
According to the CMSA, all facilities and equipment at the launch site are in good condition, while various pre-launch function checks and joint tests will be carried out as planned.
The spaceship will be launched at an appropriate time in the near future, the CMSA said.
Deep Blue Aerospace plans to carry out a vertical recovery flight test of the first stage of the Nebula-1 launch vehicle, and aims to conduct its maiden flight at an appropriate time in 2025.
by78
General
An update on Zhuque-3 launch vehicle. Zhang Jinru, VP of LandSpace re-confirmed that the maiden launch of Zhuque-3 will take place in the 2nd half of this year (sometime in Q3). The company also expects to conduct a launch and 1st-stage recovery by the end of this year.
Zhuque-3 first stage being assembled, showing its nine TQ-12A engines.
China has successfully and completely (intact) recovered a CZ3B first-stage rocket under its parafoil-based recovery program.
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The large parafoil recovery system developed by the 508th Research Institute of the Fifth Academy has successfully completed its flight test.
Recently, the large parafoil recovery system developed by the 508th Research Institute of the Fifth Academy was carried aboard a CZ-3B rocket for a flight test. The entire system operated normally, and the booster-parafoil combination achieved precise landing within the designated target area, marking a complete success. This represents the third successful test following previous achievements in 2021 and 2023, demonstrating that China's spacecraft precision recovery technology has matured. It lays a solid foundation for the development of reusable spacecraft.
During the rocket's flight, the booster equipped with the large parafoil recovery system completed its mission and, through the parafoil's homing control, achieved a stable and precise landing in the designated area. The parafoil recovery system successfully overcame technical challenges posed by complex airflow conditions, showcasing China's innovation capabilities in aerospace recovery and landing technologies.
▲ The parafoil recovery system achieves precise landing, enabling intact booster recovery
Large-scale parafoil recovery technology can significantly reduce space mission costs and enable the reuse of critical components like boosters. Additionally, the high-precision landing capability of large parafoils provides new technical pathways for future rocket recovery and deep-space exploration missions. This achievement will also drive technological advancements in related fields such as materials science and automatic control.
In the future, as the technology continues to mature, large parafoil recovery systems are expected to play a vital role in more aerospace missions.