https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/rss/325304/feed en https://assets-v2.i-scmp.com/production/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg Ben Jiang,Ann Cao,Richard Chen Ben Jiang,Ann Cao,Richard Chen Long before artificial intelligence became the next big thing in the tech industry, Wang Jian was crafting the foundational infrastructure that would eventually power it. In 2008, he joined Alibaba Group Holding – owner of the South China Morning Post – as chief architect and founded Alibaba Cloud in 2009, convincing the company’s leadership to invest heavily in building a cloud computing infrastructure from scratch. Today, Wang’s purview has expanded considerably. As an academician at the... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/plus/tech/tech-trends/article/3372106/alibaba-cloud-founder-how-ai-can-unlock-human-potential https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/plus/tech/tech-trends/article/3372106/alibaba-cloud-founder-how-ai-can-unlock-human-potential Mon, 26 Oct 2026 02:26:16 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse A Russian satellite moved within just 100 metres of a European commercial spacecraft that supports Ukraine’s military at the weekend, orbital tracking data showed, raising concerns about Moscow’s activities in space. Russia launched the Cosmos-2612 military satellite into low Earth orbit in April. It began changing course late September and eventually moved into the same orbit as ICEYE-X36, a satellite operated by Finland’s ICEYE under contract with the United States. The two spacecraft came... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/europe/article/3371575/russian-satellites-close-approach-european-spacecraft-highlights-orbital-risks https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/europe/article/3371575/russian-satellites-close-approach-european-spacecraft-highlights-orbital-risks Wed, 21 Oct 2026 02:58:04 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Tech billionaire Elon Musk said on Monday that he would give every child in the United States a share in his SpaceX rocket company. “Next year, I will give one of my SpaceX shares to every kid in America,” Musk, the richest man in the world, said on X. “This will be the first of many,” he said, without providing details about how the scheme would work. There are around 73 million children under the age of 18 in the United States, according to 2024 data from the US Census Bureau. Musk owns 38... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3371389/elon-musk-says-he-will-give-spacex-share-every-kid-america https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3371389/elon-musk-says-he-will-give-spacex-share-every-kid-america Mon, 19 Oct 2026 10:01:08 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Japanese scientists are readying a mission to Mars’ moons to retrieve samples that could help unlock the origins of the Solar System and life on Earth, in what aims to be the first round trip to the Martian region. The uncrewed Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) probe, a collaboration with US and European space agencies as well as numerous universities and tech companies, could also help lay the groundwork for eventual human exploration. The flagship H3 rocket carrying the MMX is set to blast-off... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/asia/east-asia/article/3371304/japan-readies-martian-moon-mission-uncover-origins-life https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/asia/east-asia/article/3371304/japan-readies-martian-moon-mission-uncover-origins-life Sun, 18 Oct 2026 10:35:21 +0000 Reuters Reuters Nasa’s robotic Perseverance rover has now driven farther than any other vehicle on the surface of any world other than Earth, racking up 45.2km (28.1 miles) since arriving on Mars in 2021, the US space agency said on Tuesday. The car-sized, six-wheeled rover reached the milestone 5½ years into its mission to explore if conditions conducive to microbial life ever existed on Earth’s neighbour. In doing so, it is visiting some of the ‌most ancient terrain ever encountered in the solar... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3370701/nasas-perseverance-rover-mars-breaks-record-planet-driving https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3370701/nasas-perseverance-rover-mars-breaks-record-planet-driving Tue, 13 Oct 2026 07:20:27 +0000 Letters Letters Feel strongly about these letters, or any other aspects of the news? Share your views by emailing us your Letter to the Editor at letters@scmp.com or filling in this Google form. Submissions should not exceed 400 words. Over several decades, China has risen to become one of the most potent powers in the space race. In October 2024, China released a national mid- and long-term development programme for space science. Since then, China has made significant strides. In 2025, it conducted 92 space... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/opinion/letters/article/3370278/us-china-space-race-heats-watch-out-patent-law https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/opinion/letters/article/3370278/us-china-space-race-heats-watch-out-patent-law Mon, 12 Oct 2026 03:30:05 +0000 Reuters Reuters Nasa has released a striking image of dawn on the Martian surface taken by its Curiosity rover, showing sunlight bathing jagged crags formed billions of years ago as the car-sized vehicle continues to explore Earth’s planetary neighbour. Curiosity landed in 2012 in Gale Crater near the Martian equator, and since 2014 has been climbing Mount Sharp, ‌a 5km-tall (3-mile-tall) mountain rising from the crater floor. The image was taken by the six-wheeled rover’s Mastcam camera about an hour after the... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/article/3370031/nasa-releases-striking-image-dawn-mars https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/article/3370031/nasa-releases-striking-image-dawn-mars Wed, 07 Oct 2026 09:17:37 +0000 Chao Kong Chao Kong Future settlers on Mars would need houses, but they must either spend huge sums transporting construction materials from Earth or use enormous amounts of energy to melt Martian soil into bricks. Scientists in Hong Kong say they have developed a quick and low-cost “living” building material made from genetically engineered yeast, gelatin and sand that can be 3D printed under conditions simulating the Martian environment. Their study, published online last month in Chem Circularity, an... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/science/article/3368830/mars-shelter-problem-can-be-solved-engineered-yeast-gelatin-and-sand-paper https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/science/article/3368830/mars-shelter-problem-can-be-solved-engineered-yeast-gelatin-and-sand-paper Sun, 04 Oct 2026 04:00:07 +0000 Zhou Bo Zhou Bo When the US Space Force announced on September 14 that “the US has on-orbit space control weapons capable of defending the Joint Force against hostile adversary action”, I thought of Isaac Newton’s well-known declaration that he could not calculate the madness of people. This is the first time a country has admitted to deploying weapons in space. Today, the orbits are congested and contested with many nations conducting military activities, such as surveillance and reconnaissance, early missile... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/opinion/world-opinion/article/3369204/whatever-trump-claims-weaponisation-space-makes-losers-us-all https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/opinion/world-opinion/article/3369204/whatever-trump-claims-weaponisation-space-makes-losers-us-all Thu, 01 Oct 2026 12:30:10 +0000 Lo Hoi-ying Lo Hoi-ying A remote-sensing camera aboard China’s Tiangong space station that was developed by the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology has released its first images of the city ahead of the 77th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China. The university published a series of videos and photos on Wednesday captured by the Musico camera, saying they showcased the major achievements of the Hong Kong research team’s participation in the national space programme. Professor Zhang... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/hong-kong/education/article/3369355/chinas-tiangong-space-station-camera-captures-first-images-hong-kong https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/hong-kong/education/article/3369355/chinas-tiangong-space-station-camera-captures-first-images-hong-kong Wed, 30 Sep 2026 10:47:44 +0000 Ling Xin Ling Xin A heavily redacted police report has deepened the mystery surrounding the death of a young Chinese semiconductor researcher at the University of Michigan, who took his own life soon after what US federal agents described as a routine and voluntary interview. On the cold morning of March 18, Wang Danhao, 31, spoke with two Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officers for about 10 minutes outside his rented home in Ann Arbor. When one officer offered to end the interview because of the weather,... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/science/article/3368780/us-police-report-raises-more-questions-about-chinese-researcher-wang-danhaos-death https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/science/article/3368780/us-police-report-raises-more-questions-about-chinese-researcher-wang-danhaos-death Mon, 28 Sep 2026 15:00:19 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press SpaceX launched its enormous Starship into orbit for the first time on Monday and successfully delivered the most advanced Starlink satellites yet, but cut the flight short to ensure safety. The spacecraft re-entered over the Pacific and splashed down north of Hawaii three hours after blasting off from Texas. The company had been aiming for a 10-hour flight, spanning six full laps around Earth, to prove its readiness for Nasa’s Artemis moon programme. Starship tipped over and erupted in flames... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3369106/spacexs-starship-rocket-reaches-orbit-first-time https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3369106/spacexs-starship-rocket-reaches-orbit-first-time Mon, 28 Sep 2026 14:52:05 +0000 Ling Xin Ling Xin Chinese researchers have tested a new way for spacecraft to navigate in deep space, putting a concept funded by Nasa into practice and paving the way for the country’s planned mission to Jupiter in 2030. Known as stellar aberration navigation, the approach uses tiny shifts in the relative position of stars to work out how fast a probe is moving and in what direction, allowing autonomous real-time navigation without constantly relying on tracking and commands from Earth. In a low-Earth-orbit... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/science/article/3368292/china-gets-closer-jupiter-mission-bringing-nasas-starnav-concept-life https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/science/article/3368292/china-gets-closer-jupiter-mission-bringing-nasas-starnav-concept-life Mon, 21 Sep 2026 14:02:19 +0000 Wency Chen,Ben Jiang Wency Chen,Ben Jiang As technological developments augur an era of renewed space exploration, China is aiming to become a major player. In the second part of this two-part series, Wency Chen and Ben Jiang examine the country’s strategy and progress on reusable rockets – a field where the US has a tremendous lead. US commercial space firm SpaceX has been eager to tout its deployment of reusable first-stage rocket boosters, claiming to have flown more than 600 missions with the cost-cutting launch components. Despite... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/tech/tech-trends/article/3367874/china-has-gained-pace-space-race-recovering-rockets-can-it-relaunch-one https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/tech/tech-trends/article/3367874/china-has-gained-pace-space-race-recovering-rockets-can-it-relaunch-one Thu, 17 Sep 2026 22:00:12 +0000 Zoe SL Chan Zoe SL Chan Hong Kong aims to adjust listing rules to grab a share of initial public offerings by mainland China’s space companies, in line with Beijing’s priorities and heightened activity in the sector following the blockbuster June listing by Elon Musk’s SpaceX. That could lead to more head-to-head competition between the Hong Kong stock exchange and the Shanghai Stock Exchange, which is now drawing a majority of applications, including commercial space launch providers and reusable rocket makers CAS... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/business/banking-finance/article/3367810/hong-kong-support-rocket-satellite-ipos-spacex-led-sector-takes https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/business/banking-finance/article/3367810/hong-kong-support-rocket-satellite-ipos-spacex-led-sector-takes Thu, 17 Sep 2026 05:00:07 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press American troops need to prepare for combat not only in Earth’s orbit but around the moon, President Donald Trump’s top military adviser said on Wednesday, looking ahead to a new frontier in warfare after the US revealed for the first time that it has deployed weapons in space. General Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told service members and industry figures at the Air, Space and Cyber Conference outside Washington that the US military should adapt now so it “is prepared to... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3367778/us-troops-must-prepare-fight-around-moon-trumps-top-military-adviser-says https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3367778/us-troops-must-prepare-fight-around-moon-trumps-top-military-adviser-says Wed, 16 Sep 2026 21:47:55 +0000 Mia Nurmamat Mia Nurmamat Chinese online travel platform Trip.com has launched a space-flight package priced from 5.1 million yuan (US$759,900), compared with Virgin Galactic’s publicly announced ticket price of US$750,000. The six-day trip includes several days of preflight training followed by a 90-minute suborbital flight operated by US-based provider Virgin Galactic, which departs from Spaceport America, near Truth or Consequences, New Mexico. The first four days are devoted to preparation and training, with the... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/economy/china-economy/article/3367720/chinese-travel-platform-sparks-debate-us760000-space-flight-package https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/economy/china-economy/article/3367720/chinese-travel-platform-sparks-debate-us760000-space-flight-package Wed, 16 Sep 2026 11:30:05 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse The United States has weapons deployed in space, the US Space Force said on Monday, confirming the presence of such capabilities in orbit for the first time. “The US has on-orbit space control weapons capable of defending the Joint Force against hostile adversary action,” a US Space Force spokesperson said in a statement that did not provide specifics on the weapons. “Space control encapsulates the mission areas required to contest and control the space domain – employing kinetic and non-kinetic... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3367513/us-has-weapons-deployed-orbit-space-force-says-offensive-and-defensive-use https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3367513/us-has-weapons-deployed-orbit-space-force-says-offensive-and-defensive-use Mon, 14 Sep 2026 21:10:34 +0000 SCMP Editorial SCMP Editorial China’s growing achievements in aerospace technology continue to instil pride and patriotism, even more so in Hong Kong with the city’s first astronaut now on board the orbiting Tiangong space station. The historic live interactive lecture by Lai Ka-ying and her fellow crew members on the “celestial palace” on Wednesday was more than a one-off occasion for students to catch a glimpse of life and research in space. Sustained by the right policy drive, the fervour can turn into a lasting... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/opinion/comment/article/3367168/hong-kong-astronaut-can-help-propel-citys-science-and-tech-ambitions https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/opinion/comment/article/3367168/hong-kong-astronaut-can-help-propel-citys-science-and-tech-ambitions Sat, 12 Sep 2026 23:15:05 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday called on Europe to develop its own crewed space flight capability within a decade as part of a broader push to strengthen the continent’s space sector. Macron made the call during an international space summit held in Paris this week, which was shown the cold shoulder by several US companies including SpaceX and Blue Origin. “We want Europe to assert its ambition in crewed space flight,” he said. “Our European space programme remains fragile and we... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/europe/article/3367081/frances-macron-urges-europe-assert-its-ambition-crewed-space-flight https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/europe/article/3367081/frances-macron-urges-europe-assert-its-ambition-crewed-space-flight Thu, 10 Sep 2026 12:00:31 +0000 Kristen Cheung,Edith Lin,Eric Jiang Kristen Cheung,Edith Lin,Eric Jiang Hong Kong’s first astronaut, Lai Ka-ying, will deliver a live lesson from space to students and teachers at her alma mater on Wednesday morning, with the 90-minute event broadcast to campuses across the city and streamed live on television. Lai and her two fellow Shenzhou-23 crew members – mission commander Colonel Zhu Yangzhu and Zhang Zhiyuan – will take part in the “Tiangong Class” at Tsuen Wan Public Ho Chuen Yiu Memorial College. Representatives from the youth sector and innovation and... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/hong-kong/education/article/3366850/hong-kongs-first-astronaut-lai-ka-ying-delivers-live-lesson-space https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/hong-kong/education/article/3366850/hong-kongs-first-astronaut-lai-ka-ying-delivers-live-lesson-space Wed, 09 Sep 2026 02:45:29 +0000 Matthew Cheng Matthew Cheng Hong Kong’s first astronaut, Lai Ka-ying, will deliver a live lecture from space to students and teachers at her alma mater on Wednesday morning, with the session also to be broadcast to pupils across the city and neighbouring Macau. According to an Education Bureau notice sent to all primary and secondary schools on Tuesday, Lai and her two fellow Shenzhou-23 crew members – mission commander Colonel Zhu Yangzhu and Zhang Zhiyuan – will take part in the “Tiangong Class” at Tsuen Wan Public Ho... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/hong-kong/society/article/3366760/hong-kongs-first-astronaut-give-live-space-lecture-students-wednesday https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/hong-kong/society/article/3366760/hong-kongs-first-astronaut-give-live-space-lecture-students-wednesday Tue, 08 Sep 2026 08:36:25 +0000 Tribune News Service Tribune News Service US President Donald Trump posted an image of dark “next generation” US Space Force uniforms on Sunday that the text claims were “inspired by the discipline and functionality of the Starship Trooper uniform” – a design the director of the 1997 film Starship Troopers said was directly meant to evoke Nazis. Trump also posted an AI-generated image titled “Space Force” of himself in a spaceship as two nuclear mushroom clouds detonate on Earth behind him, part of a frenzy of Truth Social postings over... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3366698/trump-posts-space-force-uniforms-derived-fascist-inspired-starship-troopers-outfits https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3366698/trump-posts-space-force-uniforms-derived-fascist-inspired-starship-troopers-outfits Mon, 07 Sep 2026 23:25:57 +0000 Reuters Reuters German start-up Isar Aerospace on Saturday launched its first rocket into space from a site in Arctic Norway, bringing Europe closer to offering satellite flights from its own soil. The uncrewed Spectrum rocket was the first commercial flight to reach orbit from continental Europe, ‌where several nations have said they want a share of a growing market for space missions. “We’re in orbit! And just made European history,” Isar said in a post on social media. The event was a breakthrough for the... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/europe/article/3366509/german-rocket-reaches-space-europe-enters-satellite-launch-race https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/europe/article/3366509/german-rocket-reaches-space-europe-enters-satellite-launch-race Sat, 05 Sep 2026 22:06:47 +0000 Ling Xin Ling Xin China has started an international project to build a three-dimensional satellite network between Earth and the moon that will track solar activity and study some of the universe’s most powerful explosions. The project plans to send 30 backpack-sized CubeSats into highly elliptical orbits around Earth in the next four years or so, according to the Deep Space Exploration Laboratory, which will lead the project. The laboratory said on Friday the constellation would “fill a global gap in systematic... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/science/article/3366483/china-launches-plan-3d-satellite-network-monitor-sun-and-cosmic-explosions https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/science/article/3366483/china-launches-plan-3d-satellite-network-monitor-sun-and-cosmic-explosions Sat, 05 Sep 2026 13:00:06 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Two Mercury-bound spacecraft left their mother ship behind on Thursday and headed down the home stretch of their nearly decade-long voyage to the solar system’s smallest and closest-to-the-sun planet. The linked European and Japanese spacecraft separated as planned from their cruiser, but controllers had to wait two anxious hours to receive confirmation via radio signals. The crucial operation was broadcast from the European Space Agency’s control centre in Germany, more than 200 million km (124... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/europe/article/3366279/mercury-bound-spacecraft-home-stretch-nearly-decade-long-voyage-brilliant-moment https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/europe/article/3366279/mercury-bound-spacecraft-home-stretch-nearly-decade-long-voyage-brilliant-moment Thu, 03 Sep 2026 17:29:20 +0000 Wency Chen Wency Chen Chinese rocket maker Galactic Energy has successfully sent its Pallas-1 medium-to-large reusable rocket into orbit, marking the latest milestone in Beijing’s drive to develop reusable launch capabilities and narrow the gap with Elon Musk’s SpaceX. The two-stage, liquid-propellant rocket lifted off at 10am on Tuesday from a self-built launch pad at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre’s commercial pilot zone in northwestern China’s Gansu province before entering its designated orbit, according to... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/tech/big-tech/article/3365964/pallas-1-sees-chinas-galactic-energy-join-reusable-launch-push-closing-spacex https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/tech/big-tech/article/3365964/pallas-1-sees-chinas-galactic-energy-join-reusable-launch-push-closing-spacex Tue, 01 Sep 2026 08:30:09 +0000 Elaine Wong Elaine Wong The City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong (CCOHK) has never been one to stick to the classical canon. After Wild (2022) and Shark Symphony (2024), the orchestra continues its run of original family musicals with Space Fantasy, created by founder and artistic director Leanne Nicholls. The premiere took a bold, if slightly wobbly, leap into the cosmos. And while the narrative didn’t always land, the sheer visual spectacle was hard to resist. The story is simple enough: 10-year-old Astrid, practising... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/arts/article/3365793/ccohks-space-fantasy-visual-spectacle-great-whole-family https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/arts/article/3365793/ccohks-space-fantasy-visual-spectacle-great-whole-family Mon, 31 Aug 2026 08:15:07 +0000 Zhonghua Sheng Zhonghua Sheng On the morning of August 19, LandSpace’s Zhuque-3 Y2 rocket lifted off from the Dongfeng Commercial Space Innovation Test Area. After deploying its second stage and payload into orbit, the rocket’s first stage touched down softly at a recovery site in Gansu province using deployable landing legs. It was China’s first successful land-based recovery of an orbital-class rocket booster that had just completed an orbital mission – a feat previously achieved only by SpaceX. Just over a month earlier,... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3365219/reusable-rocket-milestone-opens-door-hong-kongs-space-ambitions https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3365219/reusable-rocket-milestone-opens-door-hong-kongs-space-ambitions Sun, 30 Aug 2026 21:30:05 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse US President Donald Trump on Friday announced the creation of a “Space Academy” to train future civilian and military recruits for an arena where the United States faces rivalry with China. Speaking at Nasa’s Johnson Space Centre in Houston, Trump said the institution would be modelled on the famed US military academy at West Point. “It’s called the US Space Academy. That’s a big deal,” Trump said as he signed an executive order creating the new school. “It’ll serve both the United States Space... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3365667/trump-orders-creation-us-space-academy-amid-rivalry-china https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3365667/trump-orders-creation-us-space-academy-amid-rivalry-china Fri, 28 Aug 2026 19:07:43 +0000 Ben Jiang Ben Jiang Beijing-based GalaxySpace’s deployed what it called China’s first turnkey satellite export to Southeast Asia this week, underscoring the country’s efforts to boost its influence in the space industry overseas amid competition with Elon Musk’s SpaceX. GalaxySpace said it launched the Lingzhi-09 Thailand CubeSat aboard a Long March-6C rocket – alongside six other satellites – from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Centre in Shanxi province on Tuesday. Developed for Thailand’s Geo-Informatics and Space... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/tech/article/3365534/chinas-commercial-space-sector-expands-global-footprint-thailand-deal https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/tech/article/3365534/chinas-commercial-space-sector-expands-global-footprint-thailand-deal Fri, 28 Aug 2026 05:00:12 +0000 Wency Chen Wency Chen For generations, Wenchang, on Hainan’s northeastern coast, was better known for coconuts, its namesake chicken and the emigrants who left for Southeast Asia in search of a living. Now the rhythms of life here have been altered, gradually and then all at once, by China’s space programme. Wenchang Space Launch Site staged its first launch in 2016. Since then it has become one of the country’s top name-cards for rocket launches. I was near the site over the weekend, excited to witness the planned... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/tech/big-tech/article/3365209/moon-mission-delay-hiccup-chinese-rocket-city-wenchang-remains-march https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/tech/big-tech/article/3365209/moon-mission-delay-hiccup-chinese-rocket-city-wenchang-remains-march Tue, 25 Aug 2026 12:30:17 +0000 Reuters Reuters US President Donald Trump invested as much as US$50,000 ⁠in Elon Musk’s SpaceX in June, according to a public financial disclosure, giving him a financial stake in a major government contractor run by his former adviser. Trump bought between US$15,001 and US$50,000 in shares on June 23, according to a financial disclosure signed ‌by him on August 12 and made public on August 22. The purchase was part of more than 1,000 stock trades the president made in June. SpaceX priced the biggest-ever US... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3365114/trump-bought-shares-elon-musks-spacex-june-financial-disclosure-shows https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3365114/trump-bought-shares-elon-musks-spacex-june-financial-disclosure-shows Mon, 24 Aug 2026 20:22:39 +0000 Ben Jiang Ben Jiang China has approved its first private-sector commercial trial for satellite Internet of Things (IoT) services, granting a permit to a Geely-backed venture as part of broader efforts to open the country’s burgeoning satellite communications market to private capital. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) granted Zhejiang Geespace Technology, the commercial space subsidiary of electric vehicle giant Geely, a two-year trial period, according to a notice published on the... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/tech/big-tech/article/3364781/china-clears-geely-landmark-satellite-iot-test-spur-commercial-space-sector https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/tech/big-tech/article/3364781/china-clears-geely-landmark-satellite-iot-test-spur-commercial-space-sector Fri, 21 Aug 2026 06:00:19 +0000 SCMP Editorial SCMP Editorial In windswept Minqin county, Gansu province, this week, a stainless-steel booster touched down, marking a reusable rocket breakthrough. LandSpace’s successful recovery of the first stage of its Zhuque-3 rocket is more than a mere engineering milestone for China; it signals the nation’s official entry into the competitive era of reusable space flight. For years, the global space economy has been monopolised by American tech billionaire Elon Musk’s SpaceX. Now, Beijing is no longer content to... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/opinion/comment/article/3364666/space-race-heats-chinas-momentum-undeniable https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/opinion/comment/article/3364666/space-race-heats-chinas-momentum-undeniable Thu, 20 Aug 2026 23:15:08 +0000 Ben Jiang Ben Jiang In a record funding round for China’s satellite internet sector, domestic start-up SpaceSail has raised around 7 billion yuan (US$1 billion) to accelerate the buildout of a low-Earth-orbit (LEO) network designed to compete with Elon Musk’s Starlink project. Known officially as Shanghai Spacecom Satellite Technology, the operator of China’s Qianfan constellation completed its Series B round on Monday, according to a notice published on the website of the Shanghai United Assets and Equity... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/tech/article/3364654/armed-funding-boost-spacesail-accelerates-chinas-push-rival-elon-musks-starlink https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/tech/article/3364654/armed-funding-boost-spacesail-accelerates-chinas-push-rival-elon-musks-starlink Thu, 20 Aug 2026 06:00:29 +0000 Reuters Reuters A mission to ⁠rescue Nasa’s ageing Swift observatory in space was cancelled on Wednesday after the spacecraft that was launched to tug the satellite to a higher orbit suffered irredeemable technical issues in space, the rescue craft’s owner, Katalyst Space, said. Katalyst’s ‌Link craft was launched in early July to approach the observatory, also known as Swift, some 347km (216 miles) in space, grapple onto it and then tug it to a higher orbit of roughly 600km (373 miles), extending its life by... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3364617/rescue-mission-ageing-nasa-space-telescope-fails https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3364617/rescue-mission-ageing-nasa-space-telescope-fails Wed, 19 Aug 2026 22:32:21 +0000 Nayan Seth Nayan Seth US President Donald Trump’s ambitious plan to build a national missile defence system, dubbed the “Golden Dome”, may not be able to fully protect America but could accelerate the global arms race involving China, Russia and North Korea, according to experts. “If we expand these missile defences further, we can expect additional responses,” said Steve Fetter, a professor at the University of Maryland. Speaking during a discussion at the Brookings Institution on Wednesday, Fetter noted that the... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/us/article/3364615/golden-dome-may-not-fully-protect-us-chinese-and-russian-threats-experts-say https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/us/article/3364615/golden-dome-may-not-fully-protect-us-chinese-and-russian-threats-experts-say Wed, 19 Aug 2026 21:43:53 +0000 Brian Rhoads,Raymond Ma Brian Rhoads,Raymond Ma China-based LandSpace successfully launched a Zhuque-3 rocket and recovered its first stage, a breakthrough in the nation’s efforts to develop reusable boosters that can slash the cost of space launches. The first stage of the 66-metre (217-foot) rocket touched down in Minqin County, Gansu province, northwest China, on Wednesday after an eight-minute flight that delivered a Honghu-3 internet satellite into space. Take-off occurred 390 km (242 miles) away at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/plus/news/china/science/article/3364562/china-joins-musks-spacex-reusable-rocket-breakthroughs https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/plus/news/china/science/article/3364562/china-joins-musks-spacex-reusable-rocket-breakthroughs Wed, 19 Aug 2026 09:11:24 +0000 Ling Xin,Victoria Bela Ling Xin,Victoria Bela In a global first, leading Chinese commercial rocket company LandSpace has recovered a stainless-steel booster after an orbital launch, marking a major step in the country’s efforts to develop lower-cost, reusable rockets. Previous reusable boosters deployed in such launches have been made from aluminium alloys, which can be more expensive to develop due to higher design and raw material costs. China is also the first country to succeed in orbital launch recovery down distinct technological... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/science/article/3364492/chinas-landspace-beats-spacex-steel-booster-recovery-after-orbital-launch https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/science/article/3364492/chinas-landspace-beats-spacex-steel-booster-recovery-after-orbital-launch Wed, 19 Aug 2026 00:28:33 +0000 Reuters Reuters The Milky Way, a ⁠large and spiral-shaped galaxy that is home to hundreds of billions of stars including our sun, has taken a long and complicated path to achieve its current dimensions, as illustrated by new research documenting a milestone event early in its history. Scientists observing clusters of stars congregated near the Milky Way’s centre have discovered evidence that our galaxy swallowed a smaller galaxy roughly 11.8 billion years ago, when the universe was less ‌than 15 per cent of its... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/article/3364441/milky-way-swallowed-smaller-galaxy-about-118-billion-years-ago https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/article/3364441/milky-way-swallowed-smaller-galaxy-about-118-billion-years-ago Tue, 18 Aug 2026 10:30:22 +0000 Tang Meng Kit Tang Meng Kit There is something about the speed of consensus on China’s rocket failures that should give us pause. Within hours of Long March-7A rocket’s disintegration over the South China Sea on August 10, trade reports were pointing to an engine as the likely culprit. The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) had said nothing of the kind. An official Xinhua report about three hours after the launch described only “a flight anomaly” and an investigation under way. The cause is unknown,... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/opinion/china-opinion/article/3364147/chinas-space-race-has-new-problem-finding-room-failure https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/opinion/china-opinion/article/3364147/chinas-space-race-has-new-problem-finding-room-failure Mon, 17 Aug 2026 21:30:06 +0000 Zhang Tong Zhang Tong China’s hypersonic weapons can now use the stars for guidance when satellite systems like GPS or BeiDou are jammed or fail, according to a project led by the Guangdong Aerospace Research Academy that passed its final expert review on Monday. According to a report published by the academy on August 10, researchers set out to tackle the challenge of developing a star-based navigation system that would be able to function at the extreme speeds of hypersonic flight – Mach 5 and above. Hypersonic... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/science/article/3363612/chinas-hypersonic-weapons-can-be-guided-stars-if-gps-fails-report https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/science/article/3363612/chinas-hypersonic-weapons-can-be-guided-stars-if-gps-fails-report Tue, 11 Aug 2026 15:00:06 +0000 Ling Xin,Holly Chik Ling Xin,Holly Chik The rare failure of China’s Long March-7A rocket on Monday – which resulted in the loss of a communications satellite – has prompted questions over whether it was an isolated operational setback or a systemic problem. While space experts caution against immediately linking the incident to China’s rapidly increasing launch cadence, the ongoing investigation will determine if the event was caused by a localised technical anomaly or deeper systemic vulnerabilities within the Long March rocket... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/military/article/3363574/chinas-long-march-7a-rocket-explodes-after-launch-satellite-lost https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/military/article/3363574/chinas-long-march-7a-rocket-explodes-after-launch-satellite-lost Mon, 10 Aug 2026 16:09:01 +0000 Victoria Bela Victoria Bela In a show of space surveillance strength, a newly launched Chinese satellite tracked a piece of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket crashing into the moon and captured footage of its impact. No visible plume can be seen in the images that appear to show the moment of impact, which is consistent with what other scientists and telescopes reported immediately after the rocket debris struck on Wednesday. China’s Gande-1 01 space debris monitoring satellite, launched on July 24, carried out the tracking. It is... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/science/article/3363199/chinese-satellite-captures-video-spacex-rocket-debris-crashing-moon https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/science/article/3363199/chinese-satellite-captures-video-spacex-rocket-debris-crashing-moon Thu, 06 Aug 2026 12:01:27 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Scientists have captured images of the sun’s surface in the finest detail yet, revealing a strange and dynamic facade. It is dangerous to look directly at the sun without proper eye protection. But researchers were able to peek at its scorching surface with the help of the National Science Foundation’s Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope, located on the island of Maui in Hawaii. Scientists originally took the images for a different reason: to fine-tune and test the limits of the telescope. But when... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3363093/new-images-sun-show-strange-patterns-rippling-surface https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3363093/new-images-sun-show-strange-patterns-rippling-surface Wed, 05 Aug 2026 16:47:25 +0000 Reuters Reuters A SpaceX rocket piece floating in space since last ⁠year smashed into the moon at high speed early on Wednesday morning, joining the ranks of meteoroids, wayward spacecraft and other pieces of space junk that have bombarded the lunar surface for ages, astronomers confirmed. The school-bus-size object is the second stage of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket that had launched a lunar lander from Firefly Aerospace towards the moon in January 2025. Its predicted collision with the moon became a spectacle for... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3362982/piece-spacex-rocket-crash-moon-high-speed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3362982/piece-spacex-rocket-crash-moon-high-speed Tue, 04 Aug 2026 23:48:02 +0000 Han Li Han Li A Chinese researcher’s vision of serving spicy crawfish soup to astronauts on Mars became an unlikely symbol of Washington’s growing anxiety over China’s scientific ambitions at a US Senate hearing on Tuesday. Drew Endy, associate professor at Stanford University and director of bio-strategy and leadership at the Hoover Institution, said that last autumn he met a 20-year-old Chinese researcher from Shanghai at a scientific conference in Paris. Dressed in a large red crawfish costume, the young... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/diplomacy/article/3361395/crawfish-soup-mars-fears-over-chinas-scientific-ambitions-raised-senate-hearing https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/diplomacy/article/3361395/crawfish-soup-mars-fears-over-chinas-scientific-ambitions-raised-senate-hearing Tue, 21 Jul 2026 20:19:45 +0000 Biman Mukherji Biman Mukherji India’s first privately developed orbital rocket has given the country’s fledgling commercial space industry a long-sought proof point, but analysts say Skyroot Aerospace must now show it can launch regularly, cheaply and reliably enough to win customers in a crowded global market. Skyroot’s Vikram-1 rocket lifted off on Saturday from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, carrying several customer payloads and in-orbit experiments on its... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/week-asia/politics/article/3361253/india-joins-china-us-commercial-space-race-skyroot-launch https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/week-asia/politics/article/3361253/india-joins-china-us-commercial-space-race-skyroot-launch Tue, 21 Jul 2026 04:00:15 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse India’s first privately built orbital rocket took its maiden flight on Saturday, its company said, marking a significant step for the South Asian giant as it eyes a bigger slice of the global space economy. The Vikram-1 rocket, built by Skyroot Aerospace and designed to carry small satellites into low-Earth orbit, took off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota amid loud cheers. “Hello space, we have arrived!” Skyroot Aerospace said on social media. “Vikram-1’s Test Flight-1 has... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/asia/south-asia/article/3361049/india-launches-first-private-orbital-rocket-space-start-ups-expand https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/asia/south-asia/article/3361049/india-launches-first-private-orbital-rocket-space-start-ups-expand Sat, 18 Jul 2026 10:44:41 +0000