China Is Speeding Up The US With A Plan To Do 60 Space Launchs This Year

Illustration of China's Rocket Launch into Chinese Space (photo: dock. CNSA)

JAKARTA - This year will be a busy year for China, which will plan more than 60 rocket launches, after carrying out 54 missions throughout 2022.

The Chinese Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) announced last week in a blue book report that it will prioritize missions that include the manned missions of Shenzhou 16 and Shenzhou 17 to the Tiangong space station, along with the Tianzhou 6 cargo spacecraft to support astronauts' lives above. there.

New Chinese commercial launch service providers, including Expace, Galactic Energy, CAS Space, Orientspace, and Space Pioneer, are also expected to add to this manifest. Commercial launches accounted for 10 launches in 2022, including two failed.

Overall, CASC plans to launch more than 200 spacecraft, although only a few missions are planned.

In addition, the plan also includes satellite launches for national civilian space infrastructure, weather, geostationary synthetic aperture radars, and three backup satellites for Beidou or China's own version of the navigation and position determination system.

In fact, China's giant Long March 5 rocket will also take action again for the first time since launching the Tianwen 1 mission to Mars and returning Chang'e 5 lunar samples in 2020.

CASC also said it would focus on developing the Chang'e 7 spacecraft as a vehicle to the Moon and the Tianwen 2 asteroid missions during 2023.

The Bamboo Curtain country also plans to conduct a smaller Long March 6C test flight. Launching Space, Tuesday, January 31, 64 Chinese launches last year put it second after the United States (US) in launch activity in 2022.

The US launched 87 different missions, including nine launches of the Rocket Lab Electronic from New Zealand. CASC said China placed 217.39 tonnes of payload into orbit in 2022, while the US gave it an 809.59 tonne.