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China's space programme

China's space programme
The China National Space Administration was founded more than 25 years ago and is overseeing an ambitious programme which includes deep space exploration, a manned space station, and cutting-edge advancements in technology, new materials, robotics and artificial intelligence.
SpaceX is working to develop the Starship reusable spacecraft. Photo: Reuters
US-China relations

Can Musk’s Starship upend the strategic order? A Chinese think tank warns it may

Report warns the transporter could help the US military move troops and equipment in space and calls for a ‘proactive’ response.

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Mainland China

The Chinese satellites SpaceX says were on collision course with Starlink

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Science

China found something strange on far side of moon no one had seen in nature

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Space

China’s commercial space sector soars with 50 launches in 2025

Commercial launches accounted for 54 per cent of the total last year, data from China National Space Administration shows.

A Long March-7A carrier rocket, carrying the Shijian-29A and Shijian-29B satellites, blasts off from the Wenchang Space Launch Site in south China’s Hainan province on December 31, 2025. Photo: Xinhua
Science

First contact: in quest for moon water, Chinese team flags risk in touching ice

Scientists warn water on the moon is locked in frozen soil, not exposed to air and held in place only by cold and vacuum.

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Science

China suffers unprecedented double rocket launch failures in a single day

Saturday’s twin failures involved a state-owned rocket and a private one, but observers attribute them to industry’s growing pains.

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Hong Kong economy

Hong Kong eyes slice of booming ‘NewSpace’ economy as professional services hub

Chief Executive’s Policy Unit reveals that it recently hosted a high-level round table on the space economy.

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A rocket blasts off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in Inner Mongolia. China aims to cement its status as a “major space power” under the 15th five-year plan. Photo: Xinhua
Science

Could China’s Yaogan-47 satellite have a lens as wide as the Hubble Telescope?

Chinese satellite will be used for national land surveys, urban planning, environmental management and comprehensive disaster prevention.

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Science

Chinese risk study finds space solar power stations could zap satellites

Beijing team finds that potential electrical discharges, though brief, could induce abnormal currents in spacecraft systems.

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China's military weapons

Chinese state media repositions sci-fi space, air combat aircraft as tech target

Military analyst on CCTV says frontier technologies reflect ‘expectations for future aerospace and space superiority’.

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A CCTV report on January 9 quotes an expert who says concept “space-sky integrated” fighter jets in China’s sci-fi Nantianmen Project will eventually become reality. Photo: CCTV
Science

China applies to put up 200,000 satellites after calling Starlink a crash risk

US Federal Communications Commission says it approved SpaceX to launch 7,500 second-generation Starlink satellites.

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Several Chinese firms have applied to the International Telecommunication Union to put internet satellites in space as China and the US in a race to build megaconstellations. Illustration: Shutterstock
Science

Why Chinese space station is studying how gravity affects battery performance

Project is led by the country’s second civilian astronaut working with researchers on the ground to look at ways to improve performance.

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Science

SpaceX will move 4,400 satellites to a lower orbit after China cited safety risk

Starlink’s Michael Nicolls declares ‘significant reconfiguration’ to be coordinated with regulators, other operators and US Space Command.

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Science

China warns satellites from Elon Musk’s Starlink are ‘safety and security’ risk

Beijing tells UN meeting of near misses involving SpaceX satellites and warns they are being used by criminals and terrorists.

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SpaceX aims to build a constellation of more than 42,000 satellites when the Starlink network is complete. Photo: Reuters
China National Space Administration (CNSA)

Beijing extends Mars mission lead; stranded crew returns: China’s year in space

From the US-China race to bring rocks back from Mars to a ‘tit-for-tat’ orbital stand-off, here are some of the year’s most notable space stories.

A Long March-2F carrier rocket, carrying the Shenzhou-20 spacecraft and a crew of three astronauts, lifts off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in the Gobi desert, in northwest China on April 24. Photo: AFP
Science

Second reusable rocket recovery failure in a month puts China 10 years behind US

Chinese state-owned and commercial developers are racing to catch up on a decade of the technology’s deployment.

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Donald Trump

Trump’s space plan envisages US moon base amid race with China

Trump calls for moon landing in 2028, lunar base thereafter, as China targets the end of the decade for its first crewed landing.

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China Future Tech briefing

Aerospace | Lunar race pits China against US as humans seek return to moon

China and the US are vying to put people on the moon for the first time in more than 50 years in a contest that is as much about economics and geopolitics as it is about technology.

Lunar race pits China against US as humans seek return to moon
United States

Musk ally Isaacman confirmed as Nasa chief amid moon race with China

The US billionaire with a passion for space, was nominated by Trump for a second time after a previous bid fell through.

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Aerospace: Policy

China launches satellite ‘super factory’ in bid to rival Elon Musk’s Starlink

The facility features a ‘factory-to-launch’ pipeline, expected to make it faster and cheaper to build low Earth orbit constellations.

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US-China relations

Trump’s Nasa pick vows US will beat China back to the moon

Isaacman says Washington must move quickly to stay ahead of Beijing amid intensifying rivalry in space exploration.

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Jared Isaacman, US President Donald Trump’s pick to lead Nasa, during a hearing of the Senate commerce committee on Wednesday. Photo: AP
Open Questions series

Open Questions | Ex-PLA colonel on Taiwan, the Ukraine war, China-US ties

Zhou Bo ponders Japanese PM Takaichi’s recent remarks, lessons from the Ukraine conflict and why China won’t be world’s policeman.

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Illustration: Victor Sanjinez
Aerospace: Industry Trends

Explainer | Why China’s space sector is grabbing attention – including from Elon Musk

Chinese start-up LandSpace is set to launch its first reusable rocket on Saturday. If it succeeds, it will give China’s space sector a major boost.

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Science

China’s first emergency space launch: vessel with repair kit reaches Tiangong

Shenzhou-22’s arrival at the Tiangong station will come as a relief for the crew after another return ship was damaged by space debris.

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International Space Station (ISS)

Editorial | US and China should cooperate to make space safe for all

Space safety is one area where Chinese, Americans and everyone else can benefit from coordination and the sharing of information and costs.

Wang Jie, a Shenzhou-20 astronaut, returns to Earth on the Shenzhou-21 spaceship’s capsule after it touched down at the Dongfeng landing site in northern China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on November 14. Photo: AP
Science

First Thai king to Beijing in 800 years greeted by Chinese astronauts in orbit

Thailand’s monarchs in exchange with orbiting crew on board Tiangong station during visit to highly restricted mission control centre in Beijing.

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Thailand’s King Maha Vajiralongkorn and Queen Suthida with one of the historic displays during their visit to the Beijing Aerospace City on Sunday. Photo: Thai Royal Office
Space

Stranded Chinese astronauts return home from space station mission

Astronauts return from Tiangong space station aboard new crew’s spacecraft after suspected debris strikes vessel and delays launch.

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China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation

China’s chief space contractor readies plans for tourism programme

A state-owned giant is expected to unveil a space tourism package this week, with suborbital trips priced lower than US rivals SpaceX and Blue Origin.

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