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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.
Tsinghua University says its new network uses coded light signals from “beacon” satellites. Photo: Shutterstock
Science

‘Lighthouses in space’: the Chinese jam-proof satellite network to fill GPS gaps

System places powerful light sources on satellites to send coded signals for drones, self-driving cars, space missions to navigate.

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Space

Opinion | Why China’s space-based solar power is the next frontier of green energy

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Science

Can China commercial satellite’s ‘octopus tentacle’ pass low-orbit refuel test?

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United States

Nasa clears Artemis moon rocket for an April launch with 4 astronauts

After critical repairs, the rocket returns to the pad for humanity’s first crewed trip to the moon in over 50 years.

Nasa’s next-generation moon rocket, the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket with the Orion crew capsule. Photo: Reuters
Science

China’s 2030 moon landing: scientists suggest a site long on Nasa’s radar

Research team cites abundant mare basalts, river-like valleys formed from surface lava flows and deposits of volcanic materials.

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Science

China can’t buy Elon Musk’s theory on space-based AI centres: experts

Beijing urged to focus on installing computing system in orbit to analyse data from satellites making information gathering more effective.

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Science

What is the moon’s far side made of? Chinese scientists use AI to crack mystery

Findings add to a growing body of insights from China’s historic Chang’e-6 mission to the lunar far side in 2024.

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Image of the lunar surface as captured by the Chang’e-6 lander. Photo: Handout via Xinhua
Science

China boosts science budget: is it listening to everything Elon Musk says?

Beijing says greater allocation reflects importance of science and tech self-reliance in driving China’s economy and its rivalry with the US.

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Space

Video | Japan’s Space One fails to launch satellites into orbit for third time

The start-up aims to become Japan’s first private company to put a satellite into orbit.

United States

Nasa overhauls Artemis mission amid setbacks in moon race with China

The US space agency will essentially swap a planned moon landing for an additional test mission staged closer to Earth.

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Nasa’s Artemis II SLS moon rocket slowly rolls back towards the Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Centre on Wednesday. Photo: AP
US-China relations

US must be able to ‘turn around and punch’ as China boosts satellites: general

Head of US Space Force Combat Forces Command also highlights spaceplanes as area of increasing competition with China.

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US Lieutenant General Gregory Gagnon says more than 500 of China’s satellites “are purposely designed and networked to track mobile forces such as US carriers, destroyers and cruisers in the Pacific, as well as aircraft that deploy around the Pacific”. Photo: Xinhua
China-Africa relations

How China’s ‘gifting’ of space infrastructure is a diplomatic tool in Africa

Analysts say Beijing is gifting space infrastructure as a form of soft power on the continent.

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China stock market

From AI to aerospace: China meme rocket shares take off in race with US

Investors scramble for opportunities to maintain market momentum after the AI frenzy shows signs of losing steam.

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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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
Science

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

Durst, who has died aged 82, bridged a political divide for the ‘shared excitement of exploring the cosmos’.

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Steve Durst (second right) poses with collaboration partners from mainland China, Hong Kong and Thailand at the second International Deep Space Exploration Conference (Tiandu Forum) in Anhui, in September 2024. Photo: Handout
Science

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

First Chinese astronaut to reach Earth’s orbit says he and his cohort are ready to return to space ‘if our motherland needs us’.

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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The Mengzhou spacecraft separates from the Long March-10 carrier during Wednesday’s escape test and first flight for the heavy-lift new generation rocket. Photo: Xinhua
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.

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.

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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Illustration: Craig Stephens
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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This screen image captured at the Beijing Aerospace Control Centre on December 9, 2025, shows Shenzhou-21 astronauts Zhang Lu and Wu Fei (right) performing extravehicular activities outside China’s orbiting space station, as part of their mission to repair the damage done to the Shenzhou-20 spacecraft by a tiny piece of space debris. Photo: Xinhua
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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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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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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A SpaceX Falcon 9 launches 27 Starlink satellites into orbit from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on July 2, 2025. Photo: SpaceX/TNS
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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The Chang’e-6 lunar lander collected the samples from the far side of the moon. Photo: CNSA
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.

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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