China’s space program has become one of the fastest-growing and most ambitious in the world, building its own space station, landing rovers on Mars, and returning historic samples from the far side of the Moon. But behind these achievements lies a series ...

These are the parts of the vehicle that separate from the first stage of a rocket and push a satellite or spacecraft into orbit. In the early decades of spaceflight, the Soviet Union, the United States,

The Pallas-1 rocket vertical at the pad at Jiuquan's commercial launch test zone in May 2026. Credit: Galactic Energy HELSINKI — A number of new Chinese state-led and commercial rockets are set for debuts and fresh first stage recovery attempts in the ...

China’s space program has landed on the Moon, reached Mars and built its own space station, but its launch system carries a dangerous flaw. Older Long March rockets still fly from inland sites, dropping toxic booster stages over rural regions where villages sit in the valleys below.