We have put together stories from our coverage on science from the past two weeks to help you stay informed. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. China’s satellite engine smashes record, leaves US rival far behind China has tested a satellite engine with a record-breaking operating life, a key technology that could help propel the world’s largest communications, military and deep-space spacecraft into their intended orbits faster and more reliably. 2....
To challenge the global launch market dominance of Elon Musk’s SpaceX, Beijing is adopting a coordinated, multi-company “wolf-pack” strategy fuelled by recent engineering breakthroughs in reusable rocketry. The milestones come as a wave of aerospace firms push to secure the capital needed to scale operations and capture global market share. According to exchange filings in Shanghai and Hong Kong, at least 15 commercial aerospace companies were now in the pipeline to go public. Among the...
China’s landmark recovery of a reusable rocket has ignited heated debate on social media, with reactions ranging from awe at the rapid pace of Chinese space development to speculation over a more intense space race with the United States. This comes at a time of renewed optimism around the satellite sector, as commercial demand for internet constellations skyrockets. China made history on Friday by becoming only the second nation to achieve the controlled recovery of an orbital-class rocket...