China has become just the second country after the United States to achieve the controlled recovery of a reusable orbital space rocket. Friday’s successful capture at sea of the booster stage of a Long March-10B rocket after its maiden launch used a novel technique different from that of Elon Musk’s recently listed SpaceX and previous Chinese attempts. Instead of landing using extendable hydraulic legs, the rocket stage used its engines to position itself over a floating platform in the South...
After China became only the second nation after the US to achieve the controlled recovery of an orbital-class rocket booster, the spotlight has fallen on the domestic shipbuilder behind the design of the recovery platform. Following the maiden launch of China’s reusable Long March-10B rocket on Friday, the vehicle’s first-stage booster returned vertically and was caught by the Linghangzhe recovery platform, China’s first sea-based rocket recovery vessel to use a net-capture system. The platform...
First demonstration of soft robotic capture in orbit using the technology that went from concept to flight-ready hardware stage in four months is to be undertaken
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. The upgraded engine, developed by the China Academy of Aerospace Propulsion Technology in Xian, can produce 750 newtons of thrust, according to Chinese media reports. The Chinese engine fired for 11,617 seconds – 3.2 hours – across five orbit-raising manoeuvres...
Chennai-headquartered Agnikul Cosmos and ICEYE, the world leader in sovereign intelligence from space, have signed an MoU to explore the potential to build, launch and operate Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) earth observation systems from India
China has leapfrogged the United States in a few mighty important sectors of space technologies: GPS-style navigation, spy-in-the-sky reconnaissance and even the ability to knock satellites out of orbit, according to a report from a US think tank. The report from the Washington-based Information Technology and Innovation Foundation said China had rapidly built a powerful commercial space sector under strong state backing and was narrowing the innovation gap with the US. “If the United States...