Chang Zheng 8A launches as Chinese spaceport expansions begin – NASASpaceflight.com

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Nonetheless, February saw the maiden launch of the Chang Zheng 8A (CZ-8A) rocket, which debuted new engines and other technologies to expand China’s spaceflight capabilities.Construction is underway to extend infrastructure at the Hainan and Haiyang launch facilities. What’s more, a new agreement was signed regarding the launch of an upcoming lunar mission for Pakistan, and the launch of an asteroid-sampling mission is approaching.CZ-8A’s successfully launches on maiden missionThe first CZ-8A took flight on Feb. 11 at 17:30 local time (09:30 UTC) from Launch Complex 201 (LC-201) at the Wenchang Space Launch Center. Onboard was the second batch of GuoWang (“National Network”) communications satellites to be launched for the GuoWang constellation, which is being operated in low-Earth orbit (LEO) by SatNet. A Chang Zheng 5 rocket lofted the first batch in December.This government-backed constellation is planned to grow to 13,000 total satellites. Details regarding the GuoWang constellation are more scarce than its rival Qianfan (“Thousand Sails”) constellation, which will grow to a similar size and is operated by SpaceSail. Both appear to use a flat-packed form factor, similar to SpaceX’s Starlink satellites. GuoWang satellites are understood to target an altitude of approximately 1,000 km. For comparison, Starlink satellites operate at half this altitude, between 525 and 570 km.CZ-8A is transported to the launch pad. (Credit: CCTV/CASC)The 3.35 m diameter expendable CZ-8A features a larger second stage than the Chang Zhang 8 (CZ-8). Developed by the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT), the upgraded second stage benefits from two lighter YF-75H engines that burn liquid hydrogen and oxygen as propellants. The CZ-8 is limited to its smaller three-meter diameter final stage, and CALT intends to use CZ-8A’s upgraded second stage as a “universal” final stage on all medium and heavy-lift rockets going forward.The CZ-8A core shares the same 3.35 m diameter as the second stage, allowing many rockets in the Chang Zheng family to be transported through China’s inland railway tunnels. The vehicle’s first stage uses YF-100 engines, which are powered by liquid kerosene and liquid oxygen and utilized on other Chang Zheng rockets. Pitched as China’s future primary launch vehicle for LEO and medium-Earth orbit missions, the CZ-8A will be capable of lifting 8,400 kg to LEO or 7,000 kg to a Sun-synchronous orbit. The number of GuoWang satellites launched on this mission was not officially announced.CZ-8A on the assembly floor in Tianjin. (Credit: CALT)The CZ-8A also features a new dual-redundant electrostatic servo mechanism that made its debut with this maiden flight. The technology has already been implemented on aircraft such as the Airbus A380 and Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning fighter jet. The mechanism is slightly different from those used in aircraft, however, as it requires miniaturization and hardening against the more extreme environments of a rocket launch. The mechanism replaces more traditional hydraulic mechanisms, which can be complex in design, and the more simple but less reliable electric drive mechanisms that are also currently implemented.Massing less than 20 kg, the lighter electrostatic servo mechanism enables more efficient and rapid manufacturing, according to CALT. Its chief designer also noted that the mechanism can work continuously 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, in addition to solving traditional aerospace challenges like heating during ground operations. The mechanism can also cope with both horizontal and vertical integration and transport modes, the latter of which is used for the CZ-8A.Chinese launch site expansions underwayThe maiden launch of the Chang Zheng 8A (CZ-8A) occurred from LC-201 at the Wenchang spaceport, which supported missions launched by the Chang Zhang 7 and CZ-8 rockets last year. The recently completed Commercial LC-1 pad at the adjacent Hainan International Commercial Aerospace Launch Center has been configured explicitly for Chang Zheng 8 vehicles but has yet to see its inaugural launch. The neighboring “universal” Commercial LC-2 pad, situated just 600 m away, saw the debut flight of the Chang Zheng 12 in late November. This pad has been designed to service as many as 19 different liquid-powered rockets.Construction of the second phase of the Hainan Commercial Space Launch Site began in late January 2024. Commercial LC-1 and Commercial LC-2 can be seen in the distance. (Credit: CCTV)A second phase of construction has begun at Hainan, with two additional launch pads, designated as Commercial LC-3 and Commercial LC-4, being constructed. Like Commercial LC-2, which supports numerous vehicle designs, these two new pads will also cater to the newer generation of Chinese liquid-propelled rockets.Hainan and Wenchang’s coastal locations allow rockets to fly over the South China Sea instead of inland villages. The spaceports are located nearer to the equator than China’s three older active inland sites, allowing for additional launch trajectories.According to the launch site’s operator, Hainan International Commercial Aerospace Launch Co. (HICAL), the new pad developments will cover an area exceeding 133 hectares. New buildings will include a commercial control center, a tracking and telemetry command station, and a new assembly and test building. The center aims to host a launch every month this year and is targeting 20 missions in 2025, though each of the two completed pads is designed to accommodate up to 16 launches annually. The center also claims to be able to restore operational readiness within seven days of a launch and facilitate launch preparation using the transport erector. Meanwhile, work continues on the satellite megafactory, which is still targeting completion this June.Drone footage has also emerged of the new sea-based launch platform, which will support offshore launches from the Haiyang Oriental Spaceport. Located in the northern coastal city of Yantai, the spaceport intends to host 100 launches per year by 2027 and more than 10 launches in 2025. It has been nearly five years since China’s first maritime launch in June 2019, and the last year has seen sea launches from OrienSpace’s Gravity-1, Galactic Energy’s Gushenxing-1 (Ceres-1), and Chinarocket’s Jielong-3.The platform, marked as HOS-1, is understood to be a converted oil rig. It will form part of the spaceport expansion announced last October, which includes a dedicated launch vessel and two offshore platforms.Work continues on upcoming Chinese lunar missionsThe China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) announced the name of its upcoming lunar rover and suits this month, following a public request for names that received over 9,000 submissions. The unpressurized lunar rover will be named “Tansuo,” which translates to “exploration.” Similar in function to the rovers utilized by NASA’s Apollo missions, Tansuo can travel up to 10 km from its landing site.Illustration of the Tansuo lunar rover. (Credit: CCTV)The lunar extravehicular activity (EVA) suit was named “Wangyu,” which roughly translates to “gazing into the universe.” CMSA unveiled this lightweight suit in late September and demonstrated its dexterity of movement in a variety of positions. The suits include helmets with panoramic anti-glare visors and two cameras covering short and long-range views.According to CMSA, both the rover and suit have now entered the prototype development stage. They will debut when a pair of taikonauts conduct China’s first crewed Moon landing using the Mengzhou spacecraft and Lanyue lunar lander. The mission is expected to launch by 2030 aboard a Chang Zheng 10 rocket, which is also currently in development. The mission will spend around six hours on the lunar surface, and if successful, China will become the second country to have landed humans on the Moon.Illustration of a future Chinese lunar base with the support of the Queqiao-2 satellite. (Credit: China Academy of Space Technology)China and Pakistan have collaborated on space projects dating back to the launch of PakSat-1R, Pakistan’s first communication satellite, aboard a Chang Zheng 3B rocket in 2011. The launch deepened the bilateral partnership between the countries, which began following an agreement to cooperate on spaceflight activities in 1990. This month, the two nations signed another agreement that commits the forthcoming Chang’e 8 lunar lander to carry Pakistan’s first lunar rover to the south pole of the Moon.Pakistan’s ICUBE-Qamar was one of four international payloads aboard the Chang’e 6 lander, which launched in May 2024 and became the first mission to return surface samples from the far side of the Moon. The ICUBE-Qamar remote sensing nanosatellite was developed by Pakistan’s Institute of Space Technology (IST) and its space agency, the Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO). It mapped the lunar surface and gathered magnetic field data, transmitting its images back to Earth from 200 km above the lunar surface between May and November 2024.Photograph of SUPARCO’s lunar rover design. (Credit: SUPARCO)The rover mission is part of the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) project — a China-led initiative to establish a permanent research base on the Moon by 2035 and an alternative to NASA’s Artemis program. Massing 35 kg, the rover will monitor radiation levels and plasma properties as it assesses the lunar environment and will conduct terrain mapping of its surrounding area. It will also study the composition of the lunar regolith, which contributes to plans for in-situ resource utilization for future robotic and human missions on the lunar surface.The Queqiao-2 relay satellite, already in lunar orbit, will provide communication relays and will enable the SUPARCO team to control the lander and rover remotely. Queqiao-2 (“Magpie Bridge 2”) was launched in March 2024 and will facilitate communications on the Moon’s far side and south pole regions. It is currently the only operational dedicated lunar relay satellite and is designed to last at least eight years, allowing it to support the forthcoming Chang’e 7 and 8 missions. The satellite has a 4.2 m diameter parabolic antenna — one of the largest communication antennas ever deployed for a deep space mission.Render of the Queqiao-2 relay satellite in lunar orbit. (Credit: CNSA)Scientific instruments onboard also include a neutral atom imager, an extreme ultraviolet camera, and an Earth-Moon Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) test system. VLBI has a variety of uses for science and astronomy, such as mapping the Moon’s gravitational field, observing distant quasars and pulsars in higher resolution, or the detection of gravitational waves. The technology also allows for the tracking of spacecraft with extreme accuracy, which will be crucial for deep space missions. Moreover, VLBI can improve trajectory corrections or refine lunar orbits.Queqiao-2 succeeded Queqiao-1, which launched in 2018 and supported the Chang’e 4 mission, which became the first mission to ever land on the far side of the moon. Located in a halo orbit around the Sun-Earth L2 Lagrange point, the satellite has continued to operate beyond its five-year lifespan.Pakistan’s rover will join a number of other robotic exploration vehicles on Chang’e 8, including another rover and a 100 kg multi-purpose robot which will serve as a charging station for lunar equipment. Two AI-controlled micro-robots massing approximately 5 kg will also explore the lunar surface and maintain contact with the lander. Developed by Hanhzhou-based Star.Vision, the micro-robots’ addition to the mission marks the first time a commercial enterprise has been approved to participate in China’s lunar campaign.Render of the Chang’e 8 lander on the lunar surface (Credit: CNSA)Launching ahead of this mission, China’s Chang’e 7 is currently scheduled to launch in 2026. Once at the Moon, the lander  will conduct a detailed survey of the lunar south pole. This lander will also deploy a lunar rover to study temperature variations and radiation levels as it traverses the terrain and search of signs for water ice. The Chang’e 7 rover will be a larger variation of the Yutu-2 rover used on the Chang’e 4 mission, though with more autonomy and a magnetometer and raman spectrometer. A mini-flying probe will also be released, which is designed to hop into and out of craters and explore permanently shadowed regions on the lunar surface. This hopper is similar to the Micro Nova hopper which will fly aboard the Intuitive Machines IM-2 lander mission, which also targeting a landing near the lunar south pole.Upcoming Chinese deep space missionChina plans to launch another sample return mission in approximately three months time, when the Tianwen 2 mission will liftoff from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center on a trajectory to visit both an asteroid and a comet in a mission double-header. The craft arrived at Xichang last week on Feb. 20.Launching atop a Chang Zheng 3B, Tianwen 2 will first attempt to return a sample from near-Earth asteroid 469219 Kamo’oalewa (also known as 2016 HO3). The asteroid measures approximately 40 to 100 m in diameter — the same size as another near-earth asteroid, 2024 YR4, which made headlines recently when its estimated odds of impacting Earth in 2032 briefly rose to 2.37%. Tianwen 2’s rendezvous with 469219 Kamo’oalewa will occur around 4.6 million km from Earth, or roughly 12 times the average distance between Earth and the Moon.Early render of the Tianwen-2 spacecraft approaching asteroid 469219 Kamo’oalewa. (Credit: CCTV)The spacecraft will employ a touch-and-go sample collection technique similar to that of the OSIRIS-REx and Hayabusa 2 asteroid-sampling missions, but with a slight change. Using four robotic arms, each fitted with a drill, the spacecraft will autonomously anchor-and-attach itself to the asteroid while drilling into the regolith. This method is designed to address the asteroid’s extremely low gravity and, if successful, will pave the way for future missions sent to land on celestial bodies.The samples collected by Tianwen 2 will further inform our understanding of the origins of asteroids and comets and whether asteroid Kamo’oalewa is a primitive planetary body or, as a recent study suggests, possibly a part of our Moon that broke away following an impact.After deploying its samples for re-entry, Tianwen 2 will utilize Earth’s gravity to enter into a transfer orbit that will rendezvous with comet 311P/PANSTARRS in 2034. Currently orbiting between Mars and Jupiter in the main asteroid belt, the comet will move into the rendezvous position by 2034, allowing Tianwen 2 to investigate it for around a year. The comet orbits the Sun once every three years and is suspected to be rich in volatiles.Chinese media recently reported that recruiting may have begun this month for a planetary defense team that would monitor and react to near-Earth and hazardous asteroids. In 2024, China delayed its planned asteroid deflection test mission by two years, changing the target to asteroid 2015 XF261. Launching in 2027 on a Chang Zheng 3B, the mission will utilize a Venus flyby and impact the asteroid in the spring of 2029 at a faster speed than NASA’s DART asteroid deflection mission.(Lead image: CZ-8A launches on its maiden launch from Wenchang Space Launch Center. 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Source: https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2025/02/china-roundup-022225/