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SpaceNews.com • Andrew Jones

China launches Yaogan‑50‑02 into highly retrograde orbit; ExPace Kuaizhou‑11 Y7 rideshare deploys eight satellites

China conducted two launches in quick succession: a modified Long March‑6 placed Yaogan‑50‑02 into a highly retrograde orbit to pair with Yaogan‑50‑01 for rapid‑revisit remote sensing, while ExPace’s Kuaizhou‑11 Y7 rideshare inserted eight satellites — mostly Earth‑observation demos including an orbital‑refuelling test and AI imaging experiments.

2026-03-16T04:18:13.936371-07:00

ch-aviation

China's Air Central to expand widebody fleet for US routes

2026-03-15T20:00:23.732932-07:00

Associated Press

AutoFlight's Matrix: 10-seat eVTOL pushes AAM toward larger-capacity flying taxis

2026-03-13T21:39:52.860832-07:00

SpaceNews.com

China ends month‑long launch hiatus with GuoWang Group‑20 LEO batch and Shiyan‑30 test satellites

2026-03-13T04:01:18.954554-07:00

Hype Analysis

China's Aviation Industry in September 2024: Key Developments and Trends

October 3, 2024 - China's aviation industry in September 2024 expanded international routes, advanced the COMAC C919, and navigated competitive pressures. Read More.

News Timeline

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China launches Yaogan‑50‑02 into highly retrograde orbit; ExPace Kuaizhou‑11 Y7 rideshare deploys eight satellites China conducted two launches in quick succession: a modified Long March‑6 placed Yaogan‑50‑02 into a highly retrograde orbit to pair with Yaogan‑50‑01 for rapid‑revisit remote sensing, while ExPace’s Kuaizhou‑11 Y7 rideshare inserted eight satellites — mostly Earth‑observation demos including an orbital‑refuelling test and AI imaging experiments.

2026-03-16T04:18:13.936371-07:00

China launches Yaogan‑50‑02 into highly retrograde orbit; ExPace Kuaizhou‑11 Y7 rideshare deploys eight satellites

ch-aviation

China's Air Central to expand widebody fleet for US routes China's Air Central plans to grow its widebody fleet to support operations to the United States, signalling a strategic push into transpacific services. The move will alter long‑haul capacity allocations and has implications for fleet planning and competitive dynamics on China–US routes.

2026-03-15T20:00:23.732932-07:00

China's Air Central to expand widebody fleet for US routes

Reuters

China resumes large-scale PLA air operations around Taiwan after two-week pause After more than two weeks without major sorties, Taiwan reported on Sunday the return of large-scale Chinese military flights circling the island. The sudden resumption of PLA air activity raises regional surveillance and airspace-management pressures for civil and military operators across the Taiwan Strait.

2026-03-14T20:09:58.034117-07:00

China resumes large-scale PLA air operations around Taiwan after two-week pause

Associated Press

AutoFlight's Matrix: 10-seat eVTOL pushes AAM toward larger-capacity flying taxis AutoFlight, founded in 2017, developed the Matrix, an electric VTOL capable of carrying up to 10 passengers. The type marks a move toward larger-capacity flying taxis, extending potential use cases beyond current four-seat designs and forcing re-thinks of operations and manufacturing scale.

2026-03-13T21:39:52.860832-07:00

AutoFlight's Matrix: 10-seat eVTOL pushes AAM toward larger-capacity flying taxis

Payload

African states engage China on space cooperation while avoiding supplier lock‑in African states are engaging China on space cooperation while deliberately avoiding alignment with a single supplier, according to Mustapha Iderawumi of Space in Africa. That pragmatic stance leaves countries open to Chinese partnerships without excluding other international providers or vendors and preserves procurement flexibility.

2026-03-13T05:38:18.899539-07:00

African states engage China on space cooperation while avoiding supplier lock‑in

SpaceNews.com

China ends month‑long launch hiatus with GuoWang Group‑20 LEO batch and Shiyan‑30 test satellites China ended a month‑long launch hiatus with two missions from Hainan and Xichang, returning to a steady launch cadence. A Long March‑8A deployed nine satellites for the GuoWang Group‑20 LEO internet batch, while a Long March‑2D placed a second pair of Shiyan‑30 test/Earth‑observation satellites into orbit.

2026-03-13T04:01:18.954554-07:00

China ends month‑long launch hiatus with GuoWang Group‑20 LEO batch and Shiyan‑30 test satellites

SpaceNews.com

China advances Mars science: Tianwen-3 enters construction; Tianwen-1 images interstellar visitor from Mars China's Tianwen‑3 Mars sample‑return mission has moved into spacecraft construction, targeting a late‑2028 launch to retrieve Martian material and search for biosignatures. Separately, Tianwen‑1's HiRIC camera imaged interstellar object 3I/ATLAS from Mars, showing a coma dominated by large (hundreds of μm) grains and dust speeds of 3–10 m/s.

2026-03-12T16:09:07.996102-07:00

China advances Mars science: Tianwen-3 enters construction; Tianwen-1 images interstellar visitor from Mars

Space.com

U.S. lawmakers push for permanent lunar base amid China competition — feasibility and industry implications U.S. lawmakers are pressing to establish a permanent lunar surface base, explicitly framed as a response to strategic competition with China. The proposal raises sharp questions about technical feasibility, costs, timelines and how commercial and NASA contractors would deliver and sustain lunar infrastructure.

2026-03-12T06:04:06.000636-07:00

U.S. lawmakers push for permanent lunar base amid China competition — feasibility and industry implications

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China launches Yaogan‑50‑02 into highly retrograde orbit; ExPace Kuaizhou‑11 Y7 rideshare deploys eight satellites

China's Air Central to expand widebody fleet for US routes

AutoFlight's Matrix: 10-seat eVTOL pushes AAM toward larger-capacity flying taxis

China ends month‑long launch hiatus with GuoWang Group‑20 LEO batch and Shiyan‑30 test satellites

Hype Analysis

China's Aviation Industry in September 2024: Key Developments and Trends

News Timeline