China Aerospace Blog Discontinued (replaced by Dongfang Hour)

Dear friends and followers, fellow space enthusiasts, As you may have noticed, China Aerospace Blog has been rather inactive over the past year, going from one blog post per month in 2018-2020 to barely one article over the past year. The main reason is the time I have had to invest into China space/aviation blogging has increasingly shrinked, and I have had to prioritize. Therefore … Continue reading China Aerospace Blog Discontinued (replaced by Dongfang Hour)

A Recap of 2020 in Chinese Space (in 10 Points)

2020 is coming to an end, and how unusual it has been, to say the least. This year has been an extremely eventful one for Chinese space, with many “firsts”, some major successes, as well as some failures. In this blog post, I do the useful exercise of looking retrospectively at 2020, and picking the most significant events. Without any further ado, let’s begin. 1 … Continue reading A Recap of 2020 in Chinese Space (in 10 Points)

Introducing Dongfang Hour: a Podcast Specifically Dedicated to Chinese Aerospace & Technology

Regular followers of China Aerospace Blog may have noticed it over the past month, a new “Dongfang Hour Podcast” link has appeared on the navigation bar. After weeks of working on the project and recording the first episodes, I am pleased to officially present the project to China Aerospace Blog followers & visitors. In a nutshell, Dongfang Hour is a podcast dedicated to the Chinese … Continue reading Introducing Dongfang Hour: a Podcast Specifically Dedicated to Chinese Aerospace & Technology

China’s Spaceplane Projects: Past, Present and Future

This article is the second and final part of a two-piece blog post by China Aerospace Blog on Chinese spaceplanes. The first part discussed China’s historical approach to reusability, and more specifically to spaceplanes. This part extends the discussion by reviewing current Chinese spaceplane projects, and provides a map. Mapping Current Chinese Spaceplane Projects Below is a map of all Chinese spaceplane projects, including abandoned … Continue reading China’s Spaceplane Projects: Past, Present and Future

A Historical Perspective on Chinese Spaceplanes

This piece is the first of a two-part blog post by China Aerospace Blog on Chinese spaceplanes. It sets the context of spaceplanes in China, and goes over past attempts to make such vehicles. Part 2 will provide an analysis of current projects under development from Chinese state-owned and private companies. Table of Contents 1 – Introduction to spaceplanes 2 – China’s take on the … Continue reading A Historical Perspective on Chinese Spaceplanes

Chinese Aviation Cities: the Obvious, the Unexpected, and the Discrepant

In this blog post, China Aerospace Blog revisits the “What is the Chinese Aviation Industry Like?” article, which dates back to July 2018. While the former was essentially based on the China Civil Aviation Industry Report 2017 by MIIT, this blog post is built on a different set of data detailed below. The focus is also different: we single out the main aeronautical cities in … Continue reading Chinese Aviation Cities: the Obvious, the Unexpected, and the Discrepant

Discussing the Most Marking Events of Chinese Space in 2019 (Podcast)

This article is a short summary for the end-of-year podcast my friend Blaine Curcio and I have recorded earlier this week, summing up the highlights of Chinese space in 2019. The podcast is freely available in the audio links below. Part 1: Launch, Constellations, Investment (58 minutes) Part 2: Space Exploration, and the “Pot Pourri Section” (39 minutes) For listeners accessing the webpage from China, … Continue reading Discussing the Most Marking Events of Chinese Space in 2019 (Podcast)

Long March 5 Launch in December: A Lot is at Stake

Excitement has been building up in China and among space enthusiasts ever since Chinese authorities have hinted at a possible return of Long March 5 to the launchpad at the end of the year. First mentioned by CGWIC during the Satellite Business Week in September 2019 [1], it was then further confirmed by the departure for Tianjin of the Yuan Wang 21 and 22 cargo … Continue reading Long March 5 Launch in December: A Lot is at Stake

Thoughts on the “Hype” about China’s NewSpace Launcher Startups – (Part 2/2)

This blogpost is a follow-up of a previous article (part 1/2) discussing the hype about Chinese private launchers. While we previously essentially put emphasis on investment and launch vehicles from an offer standpoint, this second and final post focuses on the demand for launchers, in other words to what extent the small sat market will be able to sustain Chinese launchers. Market Size and Ecosystem … Continue reading Thoughts on the “Hype” about China’s NewSpace Launcher Startups – (Part 2/2)

Thoughts on the “Hype” about China’s NewSpace Launcher Startups – (Part 1/2)

Introduction When discussing the rapid development of China’s private space sector and notably launch vehicles, many observers hint at a bubble: an unhealthy number of startups all pursuing the same scope of activities with similar technical solutions, and unsustainable growth not correlated with market demand. Is this justified? In this blogpost I offer some thoughts and engage in a comparison between Chinese and US NewSpace, … Continue reading Thoughts on the “Hype” about China’s NewSpace Launcher Startups – (Part 1/2)