China launched its Shenzhou-23 mission on Sunday (May 24), which will see a Chinese astronaut spend a full year in orbit for the first time, a crucial step in Beijing’s ambition to send humans to the Moon by 2030.

The Long March 2-F rocket blasted off in a cloud of flames and smoke on time at 11.08 pm from the Jiuquan launch centre in China’s northwestern Gobi Desert, video from state broadcaster CCTV showed.

The spacecraft separated from the rocket around 10 minutes later and entered orbit, the Chinese space agency (CMSA) said on social media.

“The astronauts are in good condition, and the launch has been a complete success,” it added.

Payload specialist Li Jiaying, a former Hong Kong police inspector, will be the first astronaut from the city to take part in a Chinese space mission. 

The other crew members are commander Zhu Yangzhu and pilot Zhang Yuanzhi, both from the People’s Liberation Army’s astronaut division. 

CHINA, US SET SIGHTS ON MOON

One of the three is to stay on the Tiangong space station for a year, one of the longest space missions ever, but short of the 14-1/2 month record set by a Russian cosmonaut in 1995. That astronaut will be decided later, depending on the progress of the mission, the China Manned Space Agency said on Saturday.

China has sent astronauts to its space station almost a dozen times, but this launch comes amid an accelerating race to the moon with the US, which has warned about what it alleges are Beijing’s plans to colonise and mine lunar territory and resources.

Beijing has strongly rejected these claims.

NASA is seeking to achieve a crewed moon landing in 2028, two years ahead of China. The US aims to establish a long-term lunar presence as a stepping stone to eventual human exploration of Mars.

In April, four NASA astronauts made a historic trip around the moon as part of the Artemis II mission, flying farther from Earth than anyone before in the world’s first crewed lunar mission in half a century.

On Friday, Elon Musk’s SpaceX made a largely successful, uncrewed test flight of its next-generation Starship rocket, which is designed to enable more frequent Starlink satellite launches and to send future NASA missions to the moon.

China, with less than four years until its 2030 deadline, faces a tall order of developing entirely new hardware and software specific to its lunar mission, proving it is mission-ready. That will ensure its astronauts, used to the relative safety of Tiangong in low-Earth orbit, can safely make the riskier transition to the moon’s surface.

China’s Shenzhou missions have been sending trios of astronauts to the station for six-month stays since 2021. The Chinese space agency is training two Pakistani astronauts, one of whom could join an expected mission to Tiangong this year on a short-duration basis.

GOAL OF PERMANENT LUNAR BASE BY 2035

The previous mission, Shenzhou-22, was launched ahead of schedule in November to return three Chinese astronauts to Earth after their Shenzhou-20 vessel was damaged by space debris in orbit.

China has only sent robots to the moon, but its successive Shenzhou missions highlight the country’s rapidly improving space capabilities. In June 2024, China became the first country to recover lunar samples from the moon’s far side, using robots.

A successful crewed landing before 2030 would boost China’s plans to establish a permanent base on the moon by 2035 with Russia.

The Chinese lunar programme’s chief scientist, Wu Weiren, has said Beijing’s public timeline is intentionally conservative.

Over the past year, Beijing has been carrying out safety tests of hardware developed for the 2030 mission, including heavy-lift Long March-10 rockets, the Mengzhou spacecraft and the Lanyue lunar lander.

The Shenzhou-23 flight will execute the first autonomous rapid rendezvous and docking procedure with the core module of Tiangong in preparation for the 2030 mission, which hinges on an automated lunar-orbit rendezvous between the Mengzhou capsule and the Lanyue lander.

Scientists will also study the physiological effects of radiation exposure, bone density loss and psychological stress in space for the extended duration of the Shenzhou-23 mission.

Beijing is conducting the world’s first human “artificial embryo” experiment in space, having sent samples of human stem cells to the Shenzhou-22 crew on the Tiangong this month, state media reported. The experiment is intended to study the long-term residence, survival and reproduction of human beings in space. (CNA)

The post China launches rocket to send astronaut on year-long space mission appeared first on Newswire.

With India’s nearly $70 million investment leap, Astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla’s space mission ignites global space commerce.

In a landmark moment for India’s space ambitions, Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla is currently aboard the International Space Station (ISS) as part of a commercial spaceflight mission organized by Axiom Space.

This mission, known as Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4), marks India’s first paid seat on a private astronaut mission, signalling a new era of international cooperation and commercial engagement in human spaceflight. Super simplified it is a glorified shared Uber taxi ride with Hungary and Poland also sharing the costs.

India’s participation in Ax-4 is the result of a nearly $70 million investment, a strategic move that allows the country to gain first-hand experience in human spaceflight operations ahead of its own Gaganyaan mission. The mission was borne by Axiom Space seeking to sell a seat to ISRO, followed by a bilateral agreement between the Indian and US governments, with the intent to deepen space collaboration and accelerate India’s capabilities in crewed missions.

The Ax-4 mission is a complex orchestration of multiple entities.

Axiom Space, a private US company aiming to build its own commercial space station, won NASA’s tender to operate private astronaut missions. Axiom does not own a launch vehicle, so it partnered with SpaceX, which provided the Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon capsule, now named Grace.

The mission was certified and overseen by NASA and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and coordinated with the international consortium that manages the ISS.

This intricate framework-described by aerospace engineer and space entrepreneur George Weinmann as “G2-B2-B2-G”-involves government-to-business (India to Axiom), business-to-business (Axiom to SpaceX), and business-to-government (SpaceX to NASA and ISS partners) interactions. According to Weinmann, the success of this model demonstrates the growing maturity of commercial spaceflight and the ability of diverse stakeholders to collaborate effectively despite regulatory and operational complexities.

The mission faced several technical challenges, including delays due to weather, oxidizer leaks, and docking issues at the ISS. However, these hiccups were resolved through coordinated efforts among all parties. Weinmann emphasized that the decorum and responsiveness shown by SpaceX and Axiom in addressing ISRO’s heightened concerns, where at one stage ISRO threatened to withdraw its astronaut from the Axiom-4 mission were exemplary, especially given the constraints imposed by US export control laws like International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR).

For India, the mission is not just symbolic but deeply practical. ISRO has used the opportunity to conduct microgravity experiments aboard the ISS, with seven Indian research proposals selected for execution. These experiments span areas such as biomedical science, material physics, and space agriculture, contributing to a broader pool of 60 studies from 31 countries.

The presence of Group Captain Shukla on the ISS also marks a diplomatic milestone. It reflects India’s emergence as a credible space power and its ability to engage in high-level international partnerships. The mission has been dubbed “Mission Akash Ganga” in India, echoing the country’s cultural and scientific aspirations in space.

Weinmann noted that the mission’s success is a testament to the power of communication and trust. Despite the challenges and hiccups involvement of multiple governments and private entities, the stakeholders managed to align their priorities and execute the mission smoothly. He also highlighted the role of India’s newly formed space promotion agency, InSpace, in facilitating private sector participation and international collaboration.

Looking ahead, the Ax-4 mission sets a precedent for future commercial spaceflights involving emerging space nations. It demonstrates that with the right framework, countries can access the ISS and other orbital platforms without being formal partners in the consortium. This opens the door for broader participation in space research, technology development, and even commercial ventures such as manufacturing and biopharma in microgravity.

The mission also reinforces the strategic importance of space diplomacy. With India and the US continuing to strengthen their space ties, including upcoming collaborations like the NISAR satellite launch, the Ax-4 mission serves as a blueprint for how commercial and governmental entities can work together to achieve shared goals.

India’s participation in Axiom Mission 4 is a bold and successful step into the realm of commercial human spaceflight. It showcases the country’s readiness to engage with global space leaders, leverage private sector capabilities, and contribute meaningfully to the future of space exploration.

As Group Captain Shukla continues his work aboard the ISS, the mission stands as a powerful symbol of what can be achieved through innovation, diplomacy, and collaboration, since space unifies nations as the perch of space shows no national boundaries to astronauts like Group Captain Shukla.

Now, a whole new commercialisation of the low Earth orbit is being paved by India’s first foray into the space station. Group Captain Shukla, literally, opened the doors to increased commerce in space. (NDTV)

The post India’s $70 Million Ticket To Space Redefines A Global Collaboration appeared first on Newswire.

A group of six women, including American singer-songwriter Katy Perry, blasted off into the upper limits of the Earth’s atmosphere on Monday on a rocket from Blue Origin, the space company owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.

Bezos’s fiancee Lauren Sanchez, a US author and philanthropist, also joined the passengers on board the flight, which blasted off from western Texas at around 8:30 am (1330 GMT). The flight took around 10 minutes and the rocket returned safely to the ground by parachute. 

The remaining crew included TV presenter Gayle King, film producer Kerianne Flynn, former NASA aerospace engineer Aisha Bowe and Amanda Nguyen, founder of a campaign group against sexual violence.

King’s close friend, talk show legend Oprah Winfrey, was among those watching the launch in Texas.

“It’s oddly quiet when you get up there… you look down at the planet and think, ‘That’s where we came from?’ And to me it’s such a reminder about how we need to do better and be better,” King said.

Monday’s venture features the first all-woman space crew since Russian cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova’s historic solo flight in 1963.

10-minute flight to the edge of space

The passengers were carried more than 100 kilometers (60 miles) above the Earth’s surface — beyond the Karman line, the internationally recognized boundary of space. 

The fully automated craft rose vertically before the crew capsule separated in mid-flight, before returning to the ground in a fall braked by parachutes and a retro rocket.

Perry, known for hits such as “Firework” and “California Gurls,” and her co-passengers had the chance to experience weightlessness for a brief period during the trip.

“I feel super connected to love,” Katy Perry said after landing back on Earth. She was holding a daisy flower, which she took into space, to remind her of her daughter, Daisy.

Ahead of the trip she told Elle magazine that she was going on the trip for Daisy, whom she shares with actor Orlando Bloom, “to inspire her to never have limits on her dreams.”

“I’m just so excited to see the inspiration through her eyes and the light in her eyes when she sees that rocket go, and she goes back to school the next day and says ‘Mom went to space,'” Perry added.

Space tourism taking off

Other prominent figures among the 52 previous Blue Origin passengers include longtime “Star Trek” star William Shatner.

But Blue Origin, which does not publicly say how much such a trip costs, aims in future to bring space tourists into orbit, competing directly with Elon Musk’s SpaceX.

Virgin Galactic, founded by English business magnate Richard Branson, also offers similar sub-orbital trips to those wanting to travel to space and in possession of the high sums of money to do so. (DW)

The post Singer Katy Perry & all-female crew complete space trip appeared first on Newswire.

Dr. Mohammad Bin Saud Al-Tamimi, chief executive officer of the Saudi Space Commission, has reviewed with several Indian government agencies, companies and leaders of the space sector, ways of enhancing cooperation, building strategic partnerships in the space economics fields and its future sectors.

During his visit to India, Al-Tamimi visited U R Rao Satellite Centre (URSC), Bengaluru. He was introduced to the latest technologies that are being developed in the manufacture, design and launch of satellites, in addition to the most prominent projects that are being worked on.

He also discussed with the Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) Sreedhara Panicker Somanath ways of benefiting from the successful experiences in India, and the development of space industries.

Al-Tamimi has also discussed with the director of the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST), the cooperation in the fields of qualifying local human cadres, and the specialists in space programs and developing its technologies in Saudi Arabia.

Al-Tamimi’s visit included many other bilateral meetings with a number of heads of Indian companies in the space sector. (Saudi Gazette)

The post Saudi Space Commission reviews cooperation with Indian entities in space sector appeared first on Newswire.