And it wasn't the "thingy" I was thinking of...but it's one nonetheless on top of that as this LM-7A successfully launched the GEO comsat ChinaSat 3B at 11:50 UTC. Like the ChinaSat 1/2/3/4 series, this one likely has classified uses:
Look at that excess methane burning stack and the future ZQ-3 pad in the background!00:00- And speaking of the ZQ-3, we may see tests out at that pad really soon:Looks like the ZQ-3 first-stage test vehicle is getting ready in Jiaxing to be shipped to Jiuquan for the static fire test due in June. We can clearly see the interstage and the grid fin motors on the left.
- And here comes another 3 Chinese launches to orbit within the next 4 days…interestingly 2 of them not being from state institutions!
- Viewers on the seaside of the city of Rizhao, Shandong Province, will be treated to yet another eye-opening coastal sea-launch w/ Galactic Energy’s Ceres-1S on May 19 ~07:35 UTC. The Tianqi IoT communications constellation is reported having 4 new satellites on this launch.
- Another, even bigger coastal eye-opener will happen down in Wenchang when yet another LM-7A rocket heads towards GTO w/ sth we don’t know on May 20 ~11:50 UTC. This can be one of *3* launches out of Wenchang before May is out!
- And then another SSO-bound launch from Jiuquan SLC will occur on May 21 ~04:00 UTC. This one should have your eyes’ attention as it’s believed to be CAS Space’s Kinetica-1’s RTF after the December launch failure, and their future rocket projects might depend on it!
- The Zhuque-2E rocket standing on the pad as its state competitor Long March 2D launches from just some kilometers away on May 14:
- Video from the same camera set: m.weibo.cn/detail/5167438…00:00
- Another view of the May 14 LM-2D launch in front of the ZQ-2E: m.weibo.cn/detail/5167816…
- Same question - I have real doubts on this company but I nevertheless would like to see them trying anything:Okay. Second static fire test. Wen jump?00:00
- And the next launch out of China is but about half an hour from now, within sights of lots of afternoon spectators:Replying to @Cosmic_PenguinViewers on the seaside of the city of Rizhao, Shandong Province, will be treated to yet another eye-opening coastal sea-launch w/ Galactic Energy’s Ceres-1S on May 19 ~07:35 UTC. The Tianqi IoT communications constellation is reported having 4 new satellites on this launch.
- This launch's mission patch is taking up the flowers' theme:GALACTIC ENERGY releases the mission patch for the next CERES-1 sea launch (HY5)
- And here's the DFHTG ("Oriental Spaceport") launch ship parked outside the port of Rizhao with the Electron-class Ceres-1S rocket with TEL truck parked on the middle of the deck:🚀 CERES-1 HY5 to launch 4 Tianqi satellites from Rizhao on May 19 ~07:00UTC00:00
- And here's a webcast:Live streaming of today's Ceres-1's launch. Window starts around 1530 BJT. weibo.com/l/wblive/p/sho…
- And launch success has been confirmed - it is indeed 4 Tianqi constellation satellites (nos. 16-18 & 20, the 34th-37th to launch) on board and deployed into a 850 km altitude, 45° inclination LEO.
- The launch from seaside:🚀 Lift off at ~07:38UTC May 19, GALACTIC-ENERGY's CERES-1 HY5 successfully launched Tianqi-34/35/36/37 from the sea off the shore of Rizhao00:00
- And the globally unique perspective of seeing a rocket launch to orbit from your office dozens of floors above ground, at least for now: m.weibo.cn/detail/5168045…00:00
- A sight more or less only seen in China, for now. Next launch from the PRC later today!The CERES-1 HY5 sea launch seen from the city weibo.com/5062523639/516…00:00
- The next Chinese launch to orbit is in just under 4 hours, and given everything this new Chinese main GTO-bound and higher orbit launcher has carried since 2020 are "ghostly", it's almost certain to be yet another classified "thingy" on top:Replying to @Cosmic_PenguinAnother, even bigger coastal eye-opener will happen down in Wenchang when yet another LM-7A rocket heads towards GTO w/ sth we don’t know on May 20 ~11:50 UTC. This can be one of *3* launches out of Wenchang before May is out!
- This LM-7A, s/n/ Y15, was seen arriving at Wenchang late last month, then stacked & moved to the pad 2 days ago as it passes the close-to-completion Wenchang SLS LC-3, the pad where Chinese astronauts are expected to set off for the Moon's surface: x.com/kelvin61942434…
- The construction of the main structure was certainly Starbase-class quick:LC-301, for the Long March 10 Moon rocket, has grown quite fast in six months. The main core of the launch support tower is said to be done, with a small amount of extra height expected.
- And you can the 5 main pads at Wenchang here, plus a brand new official launch viewing site in the foreground - I believe today's launch will be its first use:LC-301/CZ-10 service tower topped out on May 17th.
- As with all other Wenchang launches, we do expect fan-streams to pop up later before the ~11:50 UTC T-0, though you may need to jump between a few as permissions seems always been finicky!Coming up next Long March 7A Y15 at ~12:00UTC MAY 20 v.douyin.com/EJI7mf83dnQ00:00
- The all white LM-7A during rollout 2 days ago: m.weibo.cn/detail/5167796…
- And it wasn't the "thingy" I was thinking of...but it's one nonetheless on top of that as this LM-7A successfully launched the GEO comsat ChinaSat 3B at 11:50 UTC. Like the ChinaSat 1/2/3/4 series, this one likely has classified uses:
- The deep rumbles from 6 YF-100 kerosene/LOX oxidizer-rich staged-combustion rocket engines:00:00Official reports confirm that multiple LM-7A launches are planned before the year is out - that will mean a lot of beyond-LEO launches for the Chinese since the venerable LM-3B is also very busy!One extra video of liftoff: m.weibo.cn/detail/5168522…00:00The LM-7A launch as seen from the Qinglan Bridge, the main road access to Wenchang SLS: m.weibo.cn/detail/5168537…And within a day of that launch, there's another from China in the next half an hour! Despite no clues seen on @cas_space's account, this is almost certainly the return-to-flight of the Kinetica-1 w/ apparently some commercial Earth observation satellites:Replying to @Cosmic_PenguinAnd then another SSO-bound launch from Jiuquan SLC will occur on May 21 ~04:00 UTC. This one should have your eyes’ attention as it’s believed to be CAS Space’s Kinetica-1’s RTF after the December launch failure, and their future rocket projects might depend on it!And they have just confirmed launch success!Kinetica-1 is back! Mission Y7 has just successfully sent six satellites into designated orbits, making a total of 63 satellites or 6 tons of payloads since its debut. Lots of missions are planned for the coming months. 2025 is going to be awesome 🚀🚀🚀And this is the liftoff of Kinetica-1 s/n Y7 @ 04:05 UTC with 6 satellites, including commercial Earth observation satellites Taijing-3-04 & Taijing-4-02A of MinoSpace:Photos from CAS Space:Once again, telemetry has confirmed an excellent orbit insertion accuracy!Taijing-3-04 (top, optical EO sat w/ 0.5 m pan-chromatic & 2 m multi-spectral resolution + 17.8 km image swath, 310 kg) & Taijing-4-02A (bottom, SAR radar sat 2/ <1 m resolution & >240 km image swath, 267 kg) from MinoSpace:The launch:🚀 Liftoff at 04:05UTC MAY 21, CAS-SPACE's Kinetica-1 successfully made the return-to-flight, sending 6 satellites to orbit.00:00Interestingly @cas_space pointed out in their official tweet that they are "the only Chinese commercial LSP that has lifted more than 1 tonne of payloads in every of their 6 (successful) launches". That's certainly a point to be made LOL...More launch preparation photos from CAS Space: m.weibo.cn/detail/5168736…And more photos of the liftoff - it was drizzling:If this is really happening within the next days, I *think* I just saw 2 NOTAMs that may be indicative of the test in just over a day from now out of Jiuquan SLC...thought it could also be "just" a missile test. x.com/raz_liu/status…Mengzhou ship may have or about to conduct the escape test at ground level. via weibo.com/7100973006/Ps5…More photos of yesterday's Kinetica-1 launch:Some more photos from the Y7 mission:And the mission patch - you can buy it BTW:Here's the Y7 mission patch we've promised! Also physically available at our online store.I was actually going to post the EVA soon official notice yesterday, then forgot to do so…Shenzhou-20 are conducting their first spacewalk soon.00:00…and now it’s already been completed.CMSA: Shenzhou-20 astronauts CHEN Dong and CHEN Zhongrui completed an ~8-hour EVA at 08:49UTC MAY 22. More debris shields were installed.The next known Chinese launch is a BIG one! After getting attention for years, China's flagship asteroid sample return & main belt comet orbiter mission Tianwen-2 will finally get its 1st shining moment when it lifts off from Xichang on May 28 ~17:30 UTC. x.com/AJ_FI/status/1…This will definitely get some attention like NASA's OSIRIS-REx & JAXA's Hayabusa (original & 2) when it gets to Earth's "quasi-satellite" Apollo NEO 469219 Kamoʻoalewa in July 2026, scoops samples from its surface, leaves in April 2027 & sending return capsule back in November.Then it will swing through towards the rare main asteroid belt-lurking comet 311P/PanSTARRS & arrive in January 2035. A rich minor bodies tour for China's next flagship solar system exploration missions before their MSR & JIMO missions!Tianwen-2 unverified mission timeline: 🚀 Launch: May 29, 2025 🛰️ Arrival at asteroid Kamoʻoalewa: July 4, 2026 👋 Departure: April 24, 2027 🌏 Reentry capsule landing: Nov. 29, 2027 ☄️Arrival at comet 311P: Jan. 24, 2035 Source: m.weibo.cn/detail/5154207…The Tianwen-2 spacecraft certainly looks a bit like @OSIRISREx with @LucyMission's circular solar arrays......while its asteroid sampling methods are tried-n-true ones proved by Hayabusa, Hayabusa2 & OSIRIS-REx.Tianwen-2: because of the unknown surface conditions of asteroid Kamoʻoalewa, the spacecraft had 3 sample modes. -Hover Sampling: Probe uses robotic arm while matching the asteroid's rotation and hovering ~1 m above the surface -Touch-and-Go Sampling: A rotating-brush sample headScientific Payloads: Visible-IR Imaging Spectrometer Thermal Radiation Spectrometer Multispectral Camera Medium Field Color Camera Sub-Surface Radar Magnetometer Charged & Neutral Particle Analyzer Ejecta Analyzer Narrow FOV & LIDAR Navigation Sensors jdse.bit.edu.cn/sktcxb/cn/arti…Regarding yesterday's CSS EVA, apparently due to the work place being determined too far away from the Wentian module airlock, it was decided the fallback option of depressurizing the central node of the Tianhe module would be used instead, a first since Wentian's commissioning!00:00Notice the astronaut-signed EVA backpacks - that's certainly a Chinese tradition:👨🚀👨🚀Shenzhou XX astronauts Chen Dong and Chen Zhongrui, tasked with conducting #spacewalk operations, exited through the node cabin of the Tianhe core module. 👍This marked the first time that astronauts had exited via the node cabin since the @CNSpaceStation transitioned intoSample MMOD shield that has been the main things being installed outside the CSS for several EVAs across expeditions lately:🛰️During their spacewalk, the Shenzhou XX astronauts installed a debris protection device at its designated location. It had been previously deployed outside via the cargo airlock and temporarily positioned by the robotic arm. 👌 They also inspected and maintained externalAdd one more Chinese launch to the list before May is out. Given the drop zones is for yet another run-of-the-mill LM-2D (most likely) SSO bound launch from Jiuquan though on May 29 ~04:10 UTC, there's no way I could choose between random Chinese satellites that can ride on it!Hey look who's back! Despite previous reports of financial difficulties & a management change, the fact that OrienSpace has successfully launched an Antares-class rocket on first try still cannot be ignored, and they are soon launching flight 2!Second Gravity-1 currently being assembled. According to travel agency. The launch may be planned at JuneAnd the even bigger comeback is from them, 1 year since their "accidental launch". Somehow the Tianlong-3 may still have a chance of becoming the biggest privately-funded orbital rocket on Earth that isn't funded by one who has been on @Forbes' Richest #1!Finally after almost a whole year of silent. The Tianlong-3 came out the curtain again. Second stage is transporting to Haiyang for the static fire test.I have to say again that this Tianlong-3 is being claimed as a full-blown Falcon 9 Block 5 class launcher, and it even looks more like so now with higher-than-originally-planned engine thrust, and thus capability!Space pioneer has updated the Tianlong-3 specs on their website. Life off thrust 840t by now.But its closest domestic competitor (with a stainless steel tank methane/LOX design) isn't far away:The white painted inter-stage showed up in the LandSpace's factory may indicating the second ZQ-3 may have started the assembly. The first ZQ-3 is off the factory with inter-stage stacked.Now I swear I will never understand new Chinese rockets these days. Right after Space Pioneer (apparently) giving up their "original" one-off Tianlong-2 design w/ one planned in-house, CAS Space simply picked this state-designed YF-102-powered design up!Tianlong-2 (Not), LJ-2's core/booster stage. via weibo.com/6301901332/Ptz…There was never any doubt as to the launch's identity, but CNSA has indeed confirmed Tianwen-2 is gearing up for a May 29 LT (~1:30 am) launch: cnsa.gov.cn/n6758823/n6758… x.com/Cosmic_Penguin…Replying to @Cosmic_PenguinThe next known Chinese launch is a BIG one! After getting attention for years, China's flagship asteroid sample return & main belt comet orbiter mission Tianwen-2 will finally get its 1st shining moment when it lifts off from Xichang on May 28 ~17:30 UTC. x.com/AJ_FI/status/1…The Chinese are now trying out putting various navigation/comms testing spacecraft into interesting orbits around the cis-lunar space:After an orbital maneuver on May 22, Tiandu-1 became the first spacecraft running in a 3:1 resonant orbit in Earth-Moon systemIt’s launch day (or more properly night) for Tianwen-2 and our bold special correspondent @ClosertoSpace is at Xichang in his (bold for foreigners) attempt to see it live!Replying to @Amaury_cts_Et me voici à Xichang ! Je me suis fait un ami dans le train, qui m’est bien utile pour traduire. On a demandé à la réceptionniste et à la police directement, je ne pourrais pas m’approcher de la base de lancement pour le tir de fusée de ce soir. Mais je m’en doutais 😅I find it extremely funny that new Chinese commercial Earth imaging satellites showing off first lights with imaging @USNavy Aircraft Carriers home ports has now become a tradition:Some images taken by Taijing-4-02A Norfolk. San Diego. NetherlandsApparently the hop still hasn't happened, and I doubt it will be of much significance when it do TBH:Waiting for the test. Via mapp.api.weibo.cn/fx/311d98ecaf7…Pre-launch photos from SpaceLens: m.weibo.cn/detail/5171408… Most likely there won't be live launch coverage BTW. x.com/Cosmic_Penguin…Replying to @Cosmic_PenguinThe next known Chinese launch is a BIG one! After getting attention for years, China's flagship asteroid sample return & main belt comet orbiter mission Tianwen-2 will finally get its 1st shining moment when it lifts off from Xichang on May 28 ~17:30 UTC. x.com/AJ_FI/status/1…Launch pad platforms are retracting: m.weibo.cn/detail/5171438…Liftoff has occurred at 17:31 UTC. Random camera shots can be found atOnce again we have people watching a launch out of Xichang from nearby hillsides: m.weibo.cn/detail/5171455…00:00And another one from SpaceLens: m.weibo.cn/detail/5171456…00:00Big photographic guns used for this launch: m.weibo.cn/detail/5171459…00:00And here comes the official launch success & spacecraft solar panels nominal deployment confirmation!The red fume cloud at liftoff never cease to wow watchers:Here's how a Long March 3B launch with SpaceX's webcast UI would look like 😂 Video by m.weibo.cn/detail/5171471…:00:00Fairing artwork and launch mission logo. BTW just like Chang'e 6, Tianwen 2 has an official Weibo account that does tweet! m.weibo.cn/u/8000932967Trail of gold left behind as Tianwen-2 heads to sample a Near Earth Asteroid:巨龙吐息般的火焰撕裂黑夜的黑，托举天问二号探测器去探索太空，离开这地球之上！I still have no idea why they are trying splashdown recovery (?) but…good relight and throttling I guess? m.weibo.cn/detail/5171518…00:0001:56🚀 SEPOCH has just successfully flown the XZY-1 test vehicle. The engine shut down mid-air and reignited for a controlled vertical splashdown.Next Stop Sea Dragon? /sI still find it kinda cheeky there's a methane/LOX rocket hopper (the engine is BTW sourced from another company, JZYJ) randomly hopping to several km up, then back to splashdown in an industrial port close to residential areas at 6 am. Only in China!More clear version of the test. The test woke up many Haiyang local citizens. Haiyang Morning Call.00:00Speaking of JZYJ, this company somehow manages to sell their engines to multiple private companies and even SAST. And they have quite a few methane/LOX engines in development!JiuZhouYunJian recently completed a 400s hot fire of the vacuum LongYun metholox engine00:00It's also interesting to note that SEPOCH is already one of those Chinese LSP companies that has business plans in the really dubious category, but somehow they still manage to pull hardware tests like this off. This one's another:COSMOLEAP tested an attitude control system00:00The official data of this stainless steel hopper test is given as: * Diameter 4.2m * Length 26.8m * Liftoff mass 57t * Max. altitude 2.5 km * Flight time 125s * Launch: May 28, 20:40 UTC (4:40 am BJT May 29 - yes this hopped very early in the morning!) mp.weixin.qq.com/s/4sb3WXXAkKMY…00:00Think of this as a very scaled down Starship SN5/6 like hopper, also with a single methane/LOX engine, but flies quite a bit higher (while way lower than SN8-15) and splashes down instead of landing. I don't really know if that helps a lot w/ their orbital LV plans though...All these things happening overnight and I still haven't talked about the other Chinese launch to orbit expected to happen within the next hour...Replying to @Cosmic_PenguinAdd one more Chinese launch to the list before May is out. Given the drop zones is for yet another run-of-the-mill LM-2D (most likely) SSO bound launch from Jiuquan though on May 29 ~04:10 UTC, there's no way I could choose between random Chinese satellites that can ride on it!And well, the lack of one NOTAM downstream means my rocket guess was even incorrect for this one! It's the Long March *4B* launching successfully at 04:12 UTC w/ the newest Chinese "EO thingy" in orbit, Shijian 26. God knows what it's practicing w/ "environment management" uses!It's funny the LM-4 series - once China's major Delta II-class LV workhorse - has not seen a launch since Nov. 14 last year! With multiple state & private LVs being offered having similar capability, I wonder if we will see less and less of the 4B & 4Cs launching in the future?Close up of the SEPOCH hopper with its single methane/LOX engine sourced from another company JZYJ (the LV-70): m.weibo.cn/detail/5171765…Well...they definitely chose the worst day to share their own Starship plans LOL. Not that they have a chance of even trying to make this until after they can really reliably put their Hyperbola-3 into service (or fix your Hyperbola-1 first!)Well, it had to happen, I suppose. iSpace of China has plans for something called the Hyperbola-9, which may remind you of another, more familiar launcher. The company has had trouble the the Hyperbola-1 solid rocket, and could launch the kerolox Hyberbola-3 this year.I can't think of much legitimate reasons for that to happen, unless there are tech used on it that's a state secret? Uh, flexible solar arrays? Chinese ion thrusters? Or...?Tianwen-2 is an exploration mission, but it has been treated with a great deal of secrecy. The launch was not broadcast live, and we have not seen the actual spacecraft (unlike Tianwen-1). We have only a few renders of Tianwen-2, which is now in heliocentric orbit.Reusable hopper next up?Recovering the YXZ-1, the vehicle's condition IMO looks pretty good.Just tail-heavy due to the engine I guess?Off balance after venting or water leakage into the engine bay?It will buff out I guess:Close-up of the recovered vehicle. Visible dents on the rocket body with broken cable & tube cover. Engine condition still unknown.And here comes real Sea Launch At Home (TM) for the Chinese...although this platform's first use will be for Space Pioneer's re-try of Tianlong-3's static fire test, so that in case they accidentally launch it again, it will only be flying over water. 😅New pic of HOS-1 offshore hot fire test & launch platform. Tianlong-3 planned to static fire on it. The platform has a trench + a lightning tower.Video of the separation of the 2 spacecraft after entering cis-lunar space:Images of the Moon taken by Tiandu-2, and video showing Tiandu-1 during separation.The next launch out of China to orbit seems so obvious that I certainly want to get the info right now! Drop zones & tour ads almost 100% indicate yet another batch of G60/Qianfan comsats heading to polar orbit on another LM-6A from Taiyuan SLC late night on June 5 @ ~20:45 UTC.A satellite declared for testing GEO on-orbit servicing/refuelling undergoing tests w/ another declared for defunct satellite removal demo (& had already pushed a retired navigation sat off the GEO-belt) is simply very apt.Looks like a SJ-21(49330) and SJ-25 (62485) test may be underway. Joint Commercial Operations Cell reporting that SJ-21 raised its average altitude to initiate a westward drift of ~4 deg/day.Easier job to pick this one up in shallow water than recovering those Electron 1st stages:SEPOCH just shared some footage of recovering the XZY-1 test vehicle. Its shape looks great00:00An early preview for yet another run-of-the-mill LM-2D (this time definitely most likely I swear, based on drop zone) SSO bound launch from Jiuquan on June 13 ~07:55 UTC. Again there's no way I could choose between so many random Chinese satellites that can ride on it!Well then, what a chaotic late night for me here, and then there's this Chinese launch that should be coming up in just over an hour's time:Replying to @Cosmic_PenguinThe next launch out of China to orbit seems so obvious that I certainly want to get the info right now! Drop zones & tour ads almost 100% indicate yet another batch of G60/Qianfan comsats heading to polar orbit on another LM-6A from Taiyuan SLC late night on June 5 @ ~20:45 UTC.In this crazy night of mine, even this "almost 100%" was a miss! It was indeed an LEO comsat constellation launch on an LM-6A that went well and w/ even a 20:45 UTC T-0...yet it was NOT G60/Qianfan flying on this, but the government lead SatNet w/ their LEO Group 04.With even the rocket drop zones & launch window length being completely the same as for LM-6A G60/Qianfan launches, the only thing that differs this SatNet launch to polar orbit is the payload fairing - this uses a smaller diameter but longer one than for the G60 launches.A very early morning ascent as this Long March 6A clears the tower:00:00This launch was close enough to sunrise that people waking up early in the old capital of Xian managed to capture the "jellyfish" left behind by the LM-6A rocket: m.weibo.cn/detail/5174442…The launch mission patch from SAST only shows 5 stars, perhaps this launch really only has 5 satellites on board? If so then I really have to wonder how do they really look like...Tianwen-2 update: spacecraft is performing well and is 3 million km from Earth. Image of one of its fully deployed circular solar panels included. cnsa.gov.cn/n6758823/n6758…
