The Chinese space industry has been shocked as Wenchang Space Centre moves to cancel the majority of its scheduled launches for February. Moreover, the cancellations do not seem to be affecting the next-generation Long March-10A.
China Cancels Scheduled Launches For February
Nearly all rocket launches scheduled to take place from the Wenchang Space Centre in February have been abruptly cancelled. At this time, there is little information on why the Chinese space industry is taking a hit like this, given its space ambitions for the year.
The lack of details on the cancellations has fostered speculations. However, a staff member at the spaceport claims that only one launch will take place from the spaceport next month. This will be the test flight of the next-generation Long March-10A, which might maintain its launch date of 11 February. The Long March-10A is China’s rocket for lunar exploration missions.
Some claim that the reason for this cancellation is to help the Chinese space industry focus on its Moon exploration mission. Others claim that recent and previously unseen launch failures have pushed China to go back to the drawing board. The failed launches involved the Long March 3B and the Ceres-2 rockets, which both failed on the same day.
What’s Next For The Chinese Space Industry?
The global space race is intensifying as more regions lay out their plans for space exploration. China is already in direct competition with the US as both countries race to return humans to the Moon.
With the Long March-10A, which will be used for lunar missions, being the focus of China’s launch plans for next month, the region is picking up its pace. The US, on its part, is already preparing for its Artemis II mission, which will launch next month.
This mission will fly astronauts around the Moon and also take several payloads to the lunar surface. Over the course of the coming days, China’s plan might become clearer as it turns to focus attention on the test launch of its Long March-10A rocket for February.