HELSINKI — China is planning a national record 100 orbital launches in 2024, according to the country’s main space contractor.
The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) plans around 70 launches to send more than 290 spacecraft into orbit. The remaining launches will be performed by China’s growing commercial launch sector.
The plans are outlined in CASC’s annual “blue book,” released Feb. 26. The document does not provide a full launch manifest nor a detailed schedule, but offers an overview of planned activities.
Major missions include two crewed and two cargo missions to the Tiangong space station. The first half of the year will see the launch of the Queqiao-2 lunar relay satellite and Chang’e-6, a first-ever lunar far side sample return mission.
Other priorities noted include work on the country’s crewed lunar landing plan, targeting putting astronauts on the moon before 2030. Deep space exploration, geostationary radar satellites, the development of a new crew spacecraft and the Tianwen-2 (2025) near Earth asteroid and Chang’e-7 (2026) lunar south pole missions are also noted.
Further notable missions include an ocean salinity detection satellite, the Sino-Franco Space-based multi-band astronomical Variable Objects Monitor (SVOM), Einstein Probe, the China Seismo-Electromagnetic Satellite-2 with European collaboration, and the retrievable Shijian-19 space science satellite. There will also be debut flights for the Long March 6C and Long March 12 rockets.
The planned 100 launch figure is a significant rise on the national record-setting 67 launches in 2023. CASC conducted 50 of these, with 17 performed by commercial actors. CASC targeted launching more than 60 times in 2023, according to a January 2023 statement, meaning it fell well short of last year’s goal.
New sea and commercial spaceports at Haiyang and Wenchang respectively will help facilitate the planned launch rate…
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