China in Space

The Tiangong Space Station as seen by the Shenzhou-16 spacecraft as it departed in October 2023. | Image: China Manned Space Agency While promoting space activities as a new economic pillar, China has updated its domestic regulations and issued guiding op…

As of this week, the Shenzhou-23 mission has just over a month left onboard the Tiangong Space Station, with five days having passed already, determined by the launch of Shenzhou-24 with a Pakistani visitor.

The Long March 8A Y12 vehicle lifting off from the Wenchang Commercial Space Launch Site on October 25th 2026. | Image: China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation At 10:03 am China Standard Time (02:03 am Universal Coordinated Time) on October 25t…

A development Lanyue lunar lander conducting descent tests in an extraterrestrial gravity simulator in August 2025. | Image: China Manned Space Agency Ahead of sending taikonauts to the Moon no later than October 2029, test flights of the Mengzhou (梦舟) cr…

The Long March 4B Y81 vehicle leaving the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on October 23rd/24th 2026. | Image: China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation From Launch Site 94 at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, a Long March 4B lifted off at 03:25

The Long March 6A Y30 vehicle departing from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center on October 23rd 2026. | Image: China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation Blasting off at 18:15 pm China Standard Time (10:15 am Universal Coordinated Time) on October

Researchers aboard ‘Jidi’ in Arctic waters participating in a five-way video call via GuoWang services in October 2026. | Image: Crew of ‘Jidi’ With 222 satellites currently in orbit, further tests of the state-backed GuoWang (国网) constellation are ongoing

Galactic Energy’s Ceres-1S Y8 vehicle lifting off from its sea launch vessel in the Yellow Sea on October 21st 2026. | Image: Galactic Energy Galactic Energy’s Ceres-1S blasted off from its sea launch vessel located in the Yellow Sea near Rizhao (日照市), Sh…

The Long March 10 series’ first mobile launch platform having a commodity tower segment lifted (left) outside of Launch Complex 301 (right) on October 3rd 2026. | Image: RT火箭小镇 Since the quiet delay of the Mengzhou-1 mission a few months ago, work on faci…

Guangchuan-03 and Guangchuan-04 being placed onto Zhuque-2E Y4’s payload adapter in October 2026. | Image: LandSpace Since mid-2015, commercial launch firm LandSpace has been focused on developing affordable launch vehicles for the Chinese market, achievi…

Zhu Yangzhu (朱杨柱)1, Li Jiaying (黎家盈)2, and Zhang Zhiyuan (张志远)3 have completed another week on board the Tiangong Space Station, supporting the various experiments underway and participating in emergency training to keep each other safe during the Shenzho…

The Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology’s Long March 12 Y10 vehicle in October 2026 ahead of a GuoWang launch mission procured by its commercialization firm. | Image: China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation Around October 8th, the China…

Construction work next to Launch Complex 16 (left) at the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center as seen from space around September 2026. | Image: Apple Maps Following the fifteenth flight of the Long March 6 in April, which is believed to have been its last, c…

SpaceX’s Starship-Super Heavy in orbit for the first time on September 28th 2026, deploying its first twenty-six satellites of thousands planned, as seen by one of those. | Image: SpaceX At present, SpaceX and China are deploying tens of thousands of sate…

The Zhuque-2E Y4 vehicle lifting off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on October 14th 2026. | Image: LandSpace LandSpace’s Zhuque-2E lifted off from Launch Area 96A at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center at 19:40 pm China Standard Time (12:40 pm U…

The Zhuque-2E Y7 vehicle being taken to its launch pad at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in September 2026. | Image: LandSpace On October 9th, the document ‘Opinions of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council on De…

The Long March 10B Y1 vehicle lifting off from the Wenchang Commercial Space Launch Site in July 2026. | Image: Wenchang International Aerospace City To date, all GuoWang (国网) connectivity spacecraft deployed have utilized a sizeable trapezoidal-shaped de…

Another week has passed in low Earth orbit aboard the Tiangong Space Station, with Shenzhou 23’s Zhu Yangzhu (朱杨柱)1, Li Jiaying (黎家盈)2, and Zhang Zhiyuan (张志远)3 continuing to support various ongoing experiments and the orbiting laboratory’s continued oper…

Members of the STAR.VISION team and partner entities pose for a photo after announcing the ‘Marco Polo’ and ‘Ibn Battuta’ satellites on October 5th 2026. | Image: STAR.VISION Yesterday, October 9th, the 77th International Astronautical Congress in Antalya,

The Long March 12 Y10 vehicle lifting off from the Wenchang Commercial Space Launch Site on October 9th/10th 2026. | Image: China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation From Commercial Launch Pad 2 at the Wenchang Commercial Space Launch Site, a Long

Xuelong during China’s 16th Arctic Expedition in 2026 stationary in the ice to allow researchers to explore. | Image: China Media Group Since December 2024, the state-backed GuoWang (国网) connectivity constellation has deployed into low Earth orbit to esta…

Steve Gao (left), Peter Huang (center left), Yu Hongyu (center right), and Xing Fei (right) speaking at the 77th International Astronautical Congress on October 7th 2026, | Image: International Astronautical Federation For a while now, space experts in the

A render of the Haolong cargo spaceplane docked to the Tiangong Space Station at Tianhe’s forward docking port. | Image: Aviation Industry Corporation of China With development and production work quietly underway, few updates about the Haolong (昊龙) cargo…

Li Guoping (left) and Yang Liwei (right) during their respective events at the 77th International Astronautical Congress on October 5th 2026, | Image: International Astronautical Federation October 5th, the first day of the 77th International Astronautical

Today, October 5th, the 77th International Astronautical Congress opens, bringing the global space community together to discuss innovations, critical issues, and areas for collaboration.

Zhu Yangzhu (朱杨柱)1, Li Jiaying (黎家盈)2, and Zhang Zhiyuan’s (张志远)3 time on board the Tiangong Space Station for the Shenzhou-23 mission continues to pass, with the taikonauts supporting the regular research ongoing in the microgravity laboratory.

The second Qingzhou cargo spacecraft under production in September 2026, prior to power generation and thermal management system installation. | Image: Innovation Academy for Microsatellites, Chinese Academy of Sciences At the Innovation Academy for Micro…

The life support evaluation Transcender-1 capsule undergoing acceptance testing in September 2026. | Image: InterstellOr Encouraged by the results of a short drop test in January, space tourism company InterstellOr (穿越者) has continued to make progress on…

The Long March 10B’s transporter-erector heading to Commercial Launch Pad 3 in September 2026. | Image: Hainan International Commercial Aerospace Launch Co Ltd One year, eight months, and four days since work began on ‘Phase Two’, the Wenchang Commercial…

A second batch Thunder-RS engine during a test firing in February 2026. | Image: Deep Blue Aerospace Still yet to announce plans for its first flight, with hardware existing for it, Deep Blue Aerospace announced on September 24th that it has recently comp…

A promotional render of a ‘G3’ computing spacecraft in Earth orbit with its solar panels deployed. | Image: STAR.VISION Aerospace At the Global Digital Trade Expo (全球数字贸易博览会) on September 25th, commercial space firm STAR.VISION Aerospace (地卫二空间技术) unveiled

Four Tianqi satellites being secured inside Ceres-1S’ payload fairing atop its fourth-stage in May 2025 ahead of a launch from the Yellow Sea. | Image: Guodian Gaoke / Galactic Energy Following its acquisition of a majority stake in mid-July, state-owned…

As of the Mid-Autumn Festival (中秋节) on September 25th, Shenzhou-23’s Zhu Yangzhu (朱杨柱)1, Li Jiaying (黎家盈)2, and Zhang Zhiyuan (张志远)3 have been onboard the Tiangong Space Station for four months.

Representatives of China Great Wall Industry Corporation and Arabsat during the signing ceremony for Arabsat-50 on September 22nd 2026 in Tunisia. | Image: Arabsat At an event in Tunisia on September 22nd, initially reported the following day, Arabsat and…

An inert pathfinder of Hyperbola-3’s first-stage booster aboard the drone ship ‘Qinglan’ for sea trials in June 2026. | Image: iSpace Established launch firm iSpace, of the Hyperbola series of launch vehicles, has started the process of raising capital for

The Long March 6A Y13 vehicle lifting off from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center on September 24th 2026. | Image: China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation On September 24th at 16:46 pm China Standard Time (08:46 am Universal Coordinated Time),…

The Long March 8A Y11 vehicle lifting off from the Wenchang Commercial Space Launch Site on September 23rd 2026. | Image: China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation A Long March 8A lifted off from Commercial Launch Pad 1 at the Wenchang Commercial…

The Wangyu lunar space suit shown off during its first public appearance in September 2024, before it was given a name. | Image: Xinhua On September 19th, the First Conference on Aerospace Medicine and Engineering (首届航天医学工程大会) was held in Tianjin (天津) to…

A first-stage propellant tank of the Yuanxingzhe-1 launch vehicle being manufactured in August 2026. | Image: Space Epoch On September 16th, launch startup Space Epoch (箭元科技)1 announced that they had completed another funding round, in support of developi…

Since their first spacewalk at the end of August, Shenzhou-23’s Zhu Yangzhu (朱杨柱)1, Li Jiaying (黎家盈)2, and Zhang Zhiyuan (张志远)3 have been quietly working onboard the Tiangong Space Station, with the last update coming a few days before.

The Kinetica-1 Y18 vehicle during first-stage flight from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on September 20th 2026. | Image: CAS Space CAS Space’s Kinetica-1 blasted off from Launch Area 130 at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center at 12:03 pm China Stand…

The Long March 2D Y104 vehicle lifting off from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center on September 19th 2026. | Image: China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation Launch Complex 9 at the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center saw a Long March 2D liftoff at…

A technician inspecting presumably one of Jinhua-1’s first-stage propellant tanks inside the company’s manufacturing facility. | Image: Spark Space Builder of what could be China’s first electrically-run orbital launch vehicle, Spark Space (星火空间), celebra…

The Kuaizhou-11 Y3 vehicle departing from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on September 17th 2026. | Image: ExPace Expace’s Kuaizhou-11 blasted off from Launch Area 95 at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center at 10:40 am China Standard Time (02:40 am Uni…

The Long March 12 Y9 vehicle lifting off from the Wenchang Commercial Space Launch Site on September 17th 2026. | Image: China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation On September 17th at 08:32 am China Standard Time (00:32 am Universal Coordinated T…

Orienspace’s Gravity-1 Y3 launch vehicle lifting off from the East China Sea on September 15th/16th 2026. | Image: Orienspace Not long after sunrise, Orienspace’s Gravity-1 blasted off from the waters of the East China Sea, near Shanghai (上海市), at 06:00 am

What is believed to be the first satellite of the Shanghai-backed Qianfan constellation in December 2023. | Image: Genesat This page will be continuously updated as China launches satellites for the Qianfan, GuoWang, Honghu-3, Geely Future Mobility, Tianq…

The Zhuque-2E Y7 vehicle lifting off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on September 15th 2026. | Image: LandSpace From Launch Area 96A at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, LandSpace’s Zhuque-2E lifted off at 14:26 pm China Standard Time (06:26 am

President Xi Jinping speaking at a meeting during the 2026 BRICS Summit on September 13th 2026. | Image: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China Between September 12th and 13th, Xi Jinping (习近平), President of the People’s Republic of…

Members of the Orbital Chenguang team celebrating the launch of Chenguang-1 in July 2026. | Image: Orbital Chenguang For a month and a half, the Chenguang-1 (辰光一号卫星) orbital computing demonstration satellite has been doing what it is designed to do, follo…