china space program
Latest about china space program
![The Gravity-1 launch vehicle, the world's largest solid launch vehicle by capacity, launches from a ship in the Yellow Sea near Haiyang, in Yantai, Shandong Province, China, on Jan. 11, 2024](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/C3iEyKR4KbbxNDydTd32p4-320-80.jpg)
China's record-breaking Gravity-1 rocket aces amazing debut launch from ship at sea (video)
By Mike Wall published
The Gravity-1 solid rocket, built by Chinese company Orienspace, aced its first-ever launch today (Jan. 11), sending three satellites to orbit.
![photo of a golden spacecraft in orbit around mars.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/eDnyZPdjNz4cY9tvv2dZRb-320-80.jpg)
Massive Mars dust storm spotted by China's Tianwen-1 probe (photos)
By Andrew Jones published
China's Tianwen-1 Mars orbiter spotted a massive dust storm near Olympus Mons, the biggest mountain in the solar system.
![chinese and american flags on the moon](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/ppBkMkf2XWfPBA9NPJF3mC-320-80.jpg)
China won't beat US Artemis astronauts to the moon, NASA chief says
By Brett Tingley published
After declaring last year that we're in a space race, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson is now unconcerned that China will beat the United States in returning astronauts to the moon.
![a white rocket launches into a dark night sky.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/r86nxLsF3pc8mZyrxBEQem-320-80.jpg)
China's 1st launch of 2024 puts 4 small weather satellites into orbit (video)
By Andrew Jones published
A Kuaizhou 1A solid rocket launched four Tianmu-1 weather satellites on Jan. 5, on the first of what will be many Chinese missions in 2024.
![a white rocket launches with a tree-covered hill in the background.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/YvZ6aPGo7X633fBCZUyCbK-320-80.png)
China launches 'lobster eye' Einstein Probe to study black holes, neutron stars and more (video)
By Robert Lea published
On Jan. 9, China launched its Einstein Probe to observe the X-ray sky, hunting for high-energy light from neutron stars, feeding black holes and other exotic objects.
![side-by-side photos of two daytime rocket launches](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Gfywor5z5TBDzfFuYYh8eW-320-80.jpg)
China launches 2 sets of commercial weather satellites in 3-day span (video)
By Andrew Jones published
On Dec. 24 and Dec. 27, China launched clusters of small satellites to provide commercial meteorological data.
![The Chinese company iSpace's Hyperbola-1 rocket launches on Dec. 17, 2023.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/e9srvwXvpfGzh9ZGcjfC8h-320-80.jpg)
Commercial Chinese rocket launches small returnable spacecraft to orbit (video)
By Andrew Jones published
The Chinese company iSpace's sixth Hyperbola-1 rocket lifted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center early Sunday (Dec. 17) morning, carrying a recoverable satellite to orbit.
![The astronauts of China's Shenzhou 17 mission give each other haircuts on the nation's Tiangong space station.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/7g3KeVXYTDQ5hD6RJwhhJP-320-80.jpg)
Watch Chinese astronauts get haircuts aboard Tiangong space station (video)
By Andrew Jones published
Shenzhou 17 commander Tang Hongbo and rookie crewmates Tang Shengjie and Jiang Xinlin recently helped each other get haircuts aboard China's Tiangong space station.
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