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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.
National University of Defence Technology researchers have called for a “military-civil collaborative” satellite application system to boost the resilience and flexibility of China’s space architecture. Photo: Xinhua
US-China relations

Why China is being told to integrate commercial space tech with military systems

Appeal comes as strategic rivals such as the US are increasingly eyeing military uses for tech developed by private firms such as SpaceX.

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Science

Steve Durst – the US citizen space diplomat who reached out to China

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Science

China’s first man in space Yang Liwei officially retires from active duty

SpaceX

Video | Mars to moon shift pits Musk against China in lunar quest

Elon Musk shifts short-term goals from Mars to the moon, where the race for prime space could pit his company against Chinese research base.

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Science

China’s Mengzhou spacecraft passes key test for 2030 crewed moon mission

Test features first flight and controlled vertical splashdown of a Long March-10 carrier rocket.

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Hong Kong economy

Opinion | Hong Kong’s budget should move the city towards ‘inspirational’ development

The 2026-27 budget speech should explain how the city’s economic direction aligns with global and national trends, defining its place in the industries of the future.

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Space

Editorial | Hong Kong need not wait to help Chinese space ambitions take off

As a leading hub for finance and law, the city has the ‘right stuff’ to be proactive in drawing up solid action plans for the space economy.

A Long March-2C carrier rocket carrying an Algerian remote sensing satellite blasts off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in northwest China on January 31. Photo: Xinhua
Space

Opinion | How US-China space race is blurring line between civilian and military

While the private sector seeks the next trillion-dollar breakthrough, national governments race to secure the orbital assets that now underpin modern deterrence.

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Hong Kong economy

Opinion | The world must act on space debris. Hong Kong can play a leading role

As China’s superconnector, the city can advance space sustainability by offering its legal, regulatory, academic and financial expertise.

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Space

Opinion | As China opens up its space sector, Hong Kong should reach for the stars

With deep capital markets and globally aligned legal practices, the city can support a competitive Chinese space programme that shapes global standards.

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Illustration: Craig Stephens
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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SpaceX is working to develop the Starship reusable spacecraft. Photo: Reuters
Mainland China

The Chinese satellites SpaceX says were on collision course with Starlink

As orbits become more crowded and littered with debris, the US operator is having to move its devices to dodge damage.

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Science

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

The Chang’e-6 lunar probe found tiny tubes formed by a single layer of atoms – something that has previously been seen only in a lab.

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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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The Chang’e-7 mission is expected to touch down on the rim of Shackleton crater near the lunar south pole this year as part of China’s search for water on the moon. Photo: Handout
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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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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The Yaogan-47 satellite was launched aboard a Long March 4B carrier rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre on December 9. Photo: Xinhua
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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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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China’s Tiangong space station is hosting a new series of experiments aimed at developing next-generation energy storage for future lunar and deep-space missions. Photo: Shutterstock
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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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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China’s Long March 12A, the country’s first state-owned reusable rocket, has failed on its debut launch on Tuesday morning. Photo: Weibo
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.

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