SPACE reports Orienspace’s Gravity-1, the world’s most powerful solid rocket, aced its third-ever mission on Tuesday (July 21), launching nine satellites to orbit, “from the deck of a ship stationed off the coast of Shanghai.”
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China launches its Gravity-1 rocket from sea (Launch at the 00:08 mark).
New China TV; YouTube
Space News reports, “China launched its Long March 10B rocket early Friday and successfully recovered the first stage, marking a huge step for the country’s reusable rocket efforts. The first Long March 10B rocket lifted off at 12:15 a.m. Eastern (0415 UTC) July 10 from Hainan Commercial Space Launch Site on the southern island province of Hainan.”
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Long March-10B first launch and landing (Launch occurs at the 00:43 mark)
SciNews; YouTube
Breaking Defense reports, “China has been abandoning used launcher rocket stages in low Earth orbit (LEO) at an ever-increasing pace, putting both military and commercial satellites in that crowded orbital regime at greater risk of serious debris-creating collisions, according to a new report.”
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Space News reports, “Construction of the Shanghai-led Qianfan constellation continued to accelerate this week with a pair of Long March launches, following on from two recent experimental flights. China launched Long March 6A and Long March 8 rockets Thursday and Friday respectively, adding 36 satellites to the project led by Shanghai Spacecom Satellite Technology (SSST), or Spacesail.”
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Aviation News reports, “China has reached a pivotal milestone in its commercial aerospace ambitions with the full completion of a state-of-the-art ‘super factory’ in Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province.”
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China launches a Lijian-2 Y1 carrier rocket on March 30, 2026 (Launch occurs at the 0:01 mark)
ShanghaiEye; YouTube; Framegrab
Space News reports, “China could be without emergency launch capability to Tiangong space station for months, leaving no rapid-response option for any new crisis following the Shenzhou-20 incident.”
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Reuters reports, “Boeing delivered on Wednesday the first of two 777 freighters ordered by China’s Suparna Airlines, the U.S. planemaker said on Thursday via its official WeChat account. It marks the first new-build freighter handed to a Chinese carrier since the U.S.-China tariff war began.”
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Flying Magazine reports, “The U.S. Commerce Department has paused the sale of some American-made aviation equipment to China, including CFM International’s LEAP 1-C engine, which Chinese airplane maker Comac uses to power its narrowbody C919. The New York Times first reported the export block on Wednesday, citing officials with knowledge of the matter. The department largely confirmed the newspaper’s reporting to Reuters, saying in a statement that it is reviewing “exports of strategic significance to China” and suspending export licenses for certain technology as that review continues.”
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Aviation Week reports, “New Chinese combat aircraft broke cover in a flood of social media photos and videos on Dec. 26 showing them in flight and revealing two new examples of China’s evolution as an aerospace innovator. One new aircraft appeared in social media posts revealing a large, three-engine warplane with a cockpit and diamond-style wing with no vertical tails. Yaw control appears to be managed by Northrop Grumman B-2-style split rudders.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)