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Category: Science &Technology

  • China’s six astronauts in two missions make historic gathering in space

    Chen Dong, the commander of the Shenzhou-14 crew, opened the hatch at 7:33 a.m. (Beijing Time). The three space station occupants greeted the new arrivals with warm hugs and then they took a group picture with their thumbs up, shouting in chorus — “China’s space station is always worth looking forward to.”

    The space reunion kicked off the first in-orbit crew rotation in China’s space station, according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA).

    The six astronauts are projected to live and work together for about five days to complete planned tasks and handover work, said the CMSA.

    This image captured at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China shows the Shenzhou-15 and Shenzhou-14 crew waving after a historic gathering in space on Nov. 30, 2022. The three astronauts aboard China's Shenzhou-15 spaceship entered the country's space station and met with another astronaut trio on Wednesday, a historic gathering that added the manpower at the in-orbit space lab to six for the first time. Chen Dong, the commander of the Shenzhou-14 crew, opened the hatch at 7:33 a.m. (Beijing Time). The three space station occupants greeted the new arrivals with warm hugs and then they took a group picture with their thumbs up, shouting in chorus --

  • Shenzhou-14 astronauts enter Mengtian lab module

    BEIJING, Nov. 3 (Xinhua) — The Shenzhou-14 astronauts successfully entered the Mengtian lab module of China’s space station Tiangong at 3:12 p.m. (Beijing Time) on Thursday, according to the China Manned Space Agency.

    Following up, the Shenzhou-14 crew in the space station will welcome the subsequent arrival of the Tianzhou-5 cargo craft and Shenzhou-15 crewed spaceship, the agency said.

    The Shenzhou-14 and Shenzhou-15 crew members will then conduct the first in-orbit crew rotation in China’s space history.

    China launched the space lab module Mengtian on Oct. 31, taking the construction of the country’s space station into the final stage.

    This screen image captured at Beijing Aerospace Control Center on Nov. 3, 2022 shows the Shenzhou-14 astronaut Chen Dong entering the Mengtian lab module. The Shenzhou-14 astronauts successfully entered the Mengtian lab module of China's space station Tiangong at 3:12 p.m. (Beijing Time) on Thursday, according to the China Manned Space Agency.

  • NASA, SpaceX launch crewed mission to ISS

    The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon Endurance spacecraft roared off Launch Pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at noon Eastern Time Wednesday.

    Shortly after the liftoff, NASA confirmed the main engine cutoff and stage separation.

    The first stage of the Falcon 9 rocket completed its descent and successfully landed on SpaceX’s drone ship, Just Read the Instructions, off the coast of Florida.

    The Dragon Endurance spacecraft has separated from the second stage, and headed to the ISS.

    The mission carries NASA astronauts Nicole Mann and Josh Cassada, along with Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Koichi Wakata, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Anna Kikina to the ISS.

    NASA said the crew has safely reached orbit. The spacecraft will dock with the space station at approximately 4:57 p.m. Eastern Time on Thursday.

    During their time on the orbiting laboratory, the crew will conduct over 200 science experiments and technology demonstrations in areas such as human health and lunar fuel systems, according to SpaceX.

    After the Dragon spacecraft docks to the orbiting lab, another four station crew members, the Crew-4 mission, will end their mission and return to Earth just over a week later, according to NASA.

    The Crew-4 mission will undock from the space station and splash down off the coast of Florida.

    A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying Crew Dragon Endurance spacecraft is launched on NASA's SpaceX Crew-5 mission to the International Space Station at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the United States, on Oct. 5, 2022. The U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and SpaceX launched the agency's Crew-5 mission to the International Space Station (ISS) on Wednesday. (Joel Kowsky/NASA/Handout via Xinhua)

  • China launches Zhongxing-1E satellite

    The satellite, Zhongxing-1E, was launched on Tuesday at 9:18 p.m. (Beijing Time) by a modified version of the Long March-7 carrier rocket and entered the planned orbit successfully. It will provide high-quality voice, data, radio and television transmission services.

    This was the 437th mission for the Long March series carrier rockets.

    A modified version of the Long March-7 carrier rocket carrying a new satellite, Zhongxing-1E, blasts off from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in south China's Hainan Province, Sept. 13, 2022. Zhongxing-1E has entered the planned orbit successfully. (Photo by Tu Haichao/Xinhua)

  • China launches new test satellites via Kuaizhou-1A carrier rocket

    The CentiSpace-1-S3/S4 test satellites were launched by a Kuaizhou-1A carrier rocket at 10:24 a.m. (Beijing Time) and they have entered the planned orbit successfully.

    This was the 17th flight mission of the Kuaizhou-1A rockets, according to the launch center.

    A Kuaizhou-1A carrier rocket carrying the CentiSpace-1-S3/S4 test satellites blasts off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China, Sept. 6, 2022. The two new test satellites were launched at 10:24 a.m. Beijing Time (0224 GMT) and have entered the planned orbit successfully. (Photo by Wang Jiangbo/Xinhua)

  • China launches Beijing-3B satellite

    Coded Beijing-3B, the satellite was lifted at 11:01 a.m. (Beijing Time) from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in the northern province of Shanxi and soon entered the preset orbit.

    It will mainly be used to provide remote sensing services in the fields of land resources management, agricultural resources survey, environment monitoring and city applications.

    This was the 434th flight mission of the Long March rocket series, the launch center said.

    China launched the Beijing-3A satellite on June 11, 2021.

    A Long March-2D rocket carrying Beijing-3B satellite blasts off from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in north China's Shanxi Province on Aug. 24, 2022. Coded Beijing-3B, the satellite was lifted at 11:01 a.m. (Beijing Time) from the launch center and soon entered the preset orbit. It will mainly be used to provide remote sensing services in the fields of land resources management, agricultural resources survey, environment monitoring and city applications. (Photo by Zheng Bin/Xinhua)

  • World Robot Conference 2022 held in Beijing

    Photo taken on Aug. 18, 2022 shows a surgery robot during an expo of the World Robot Conference 2022 (WRC 2022) in Beijing, capital of China. The WRC 2022 is held from Aug. 18 to 21 in Beijing. More than 500 sets of robots are displayed during the conference and over 30 of them make their world debuts in Beijing. The conference, which is held both online and offline, features three major events including forum, expo and competition. (Xinhua/Ju Huanzong)Visitors take pictures of robot dogs during an expo of the World Robot Conference 2022 (WRC 2022) in Beijing, capital of China, Aug. 18, 2022. The WRC 2022 is held from Aug. 18 to 21 in Beijing. More than 500 sets of robots are displayed during the conference and over 30 of them make their world debuts in Beijing. The conference, which is held both online and offline, features three major events including forum, expo and competition. (Xinhua/Ju Huanzong)Photo taken on Aug. 18, 2022 shows a nucleic acid testing booth using a robot to take samples during an expo of the World Robot Conference 2022 (WRC 2022) in Beijing, capital of China. The WRC 2022 is held from Aug. 18 to 21 in Beijing. More than 500 sets of robots are displayed during the conference and over 30 of them make their world debuts in Beijing. The conference, which is held both online and offline, features three major events including forum, expo and competition. (Xinhua/Ju Huanzong)People look at a surgery robot during an expo of the World Robot Conference 2022 (WRC 2022) in Beijing, capital of China, Aug. 18, 2022. The WRC 2022 is held from Aug. 18 to 21 in Beijing. More than 500 sets of robots are displayed during the conference and over 30 of them make their world debuts in Beijing. The conference, which is held both online and offline, features three major events including forum, expo and competition. (Xinhua/Ju Huanzong)

  • China launches 16 new satellites

    The satellites, including a Jilin-1 Gaofen 03D09 satellite and Yunyao-1 04-08 satellites, were launched by a Long March-6 carrier rocket at 12:50 p.m. Beijing Time and entered the planned orbit successfully.

    The new batch of satellites is mainly used in the fields such as commercial remote sensing and atmospheric imaging.

    This launch marked the 432nd mission for the Long March series carrier rockets.

    A Long March-6 carrier rocket carrying 16 new satellites blasts off from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in north China's Shanxi Province on Aug. 10, 2022. The satellites, including a Jilin-1 Gaofen 03D09 satellite and Yunyao-1 04-08 satellites, were launched at 12:50 p.m. Beijing Time (0450 GMT) and entered the planned orbit successfully. (Photo by Zheng Bin/Xinhua)

  • WhatsApp is going to stop letting everyone see when you’re online

    The platform will soon allow people to control who can see when they’re online, prevent others from taking screenshots of certain messages, and leave groups without notifying entire channels.

    WhatsApp has more than 2 billion users globally, and is owned by Facebook (FB) parent Meta. Announcing the changes on Facebook and Instagram, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the company would “keep building new ways to protect your messages and keep them as private and secure as face-to-face conversations.”

    WhatsApp has long touted its use of end-to-end encryption, which means only the sender and recipient of a message can see its contents. And like other private messaging platforms, it already allows users to send messages that disappear after set periods of time.

    However, last year, WhatsApp was heavily scrutinized after an update to its terms of service.

    At the time, many users expressed concerns about a section of WhatsApp’s privacy policy that detailed what is shared with parent company Facebook, which has a troubled reputation when it comes to protecting user data.

    The update sent some people flocking to Signal, another popular encrypted messaging platform.

    Facebook tried to dispel confusion over the policy, saying that its data sharing practices were not new and did not “impact how people communicate privately with friends or family.”

    Now, two of the new features being introduced on WhatsApp — which will let you choose who can see when you’re active, and to leave groups silently — will start rolling out to all WhatsApp users this month.

    The screenshot blocking tool, which will be made available on messages intended to be viewed just once, is still being tested and will be made available later, according to WhatsApp.

  • China’s commercial rocket CERES-1 Y3 launches three satellites

    The rocket blasted off at 12:11 p.m. (Beijing Time) from the launch site, sending three satellites into the planned orbit.

    The launch was the third flight mission of the CERES-1 rocket series.

    CERES-1 Y3 carrier rocket blasts off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on Aug 9, 2022. (Photo by Wang Jiangbo/for chinadaily.com.cn)