The incident occurred on June 30, 2024, in Gongyi County, Henan Province, as Beijing Tianbing Technology, also known as Space Pioneer, conducted a static-fire test of the rocket’s first stage. According to the aerospace company, the test commenced at approximately 3:43 p.m. local time. At 820 tons of engine thrust, the rocket detached from its launch pad and blasted off due to the structural failure.

Video captured by an eyewitness shows the test stage igniting and lifting off. The stage ascends briefly before suddenly halting and subsequently crashing to the ground approximately 50 seconds after liftoff, causing an explosion.

The rocket crashed in a mountainous area about 0.9 miles (approximately 1.5 kilometers) away, breaking into pieces. Fragments from the first stage scattered across a region deemed safe by authorities, resulting in a local fire. Firefighters quickly put out the fire, and Gongyi’s emergency management bureau confirmed to that there were no reported injuries.

The Tianlong-3 is a two-stage rocket that is partially reusable and currently in development by Space Pioneer. Its performance aims to rival SpaceX‘s Falcon 9, a partially reusable medium-lift launch vehicle capable of transporting cargo and crew into Earth orbit.

In April 2023, Space Pioneer garnered attention by successfully launching the Tianlong-2, a kerosene-oxygen rocket, into space. This achievement marked Space Pioneer as the first private Chinese entity to launch a liquid-propellant rocket into space.

Delivery of new Boeing aircraft was stopped in May 2024, for the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) to conduct a review of batteries used in the 25-hour cockpit voice recorder.聽

said that a source familiar with the matter told the news organization that delivery of widebody aircraft would restart in the next few days.听听

Clearance to resume deliveries of 737 MAX aircraft is expected in a matter of weeks, according to .听听

The development will no doubt be warmly received by Boeing as the hold-up was adding to its financial misfortunes following a reduction in aircraft production at its factories. 

According to ch-aviation.com, as of January 2024, there were 206 737 MAX jets waiting to be delivered to Chinese carriers. 

Carriers awaiting delivery of 737 MAXs includes Air China, China Eastern Airlines, Xiamen Airlines and Hainan Airlines.  

Earlier this month there were reports that Airbus was holding discussions with a variety of Chinese airlines regarding the potential sale of more than 100 A330neo widebody aircraft. 

It was speculated that while China was halting imports from Boeing, Airbus may be seizing the opportunity to present more attractive terms to the Chinese airlines to purchase A330neos.   

NTSB castigates Boeing for sharing non-public info to media on door plug probe

• Aviation Safety

byIan Molyneaux

2024-06-27

The ministry warned that defying these orders could compromise national security and may lead to sensitive information being leaked, a report from . 

Via a WeChat post, the ministry cited an incident in which a foreign national was suspected to have illegally captured images from an aircraft window.

The ministry also said another passenger was detained for seven days after a flight was ordered to return to the gate for security checks after they were seen opening the window shade during takeoff to take a photograph. 

Airlines normally require passengers to have windows open during takeoff and landing for security and in the event of emergencies.

The ministry also pointed out that protecting national security is the responsibility and obligation of every citizen and that taking photographs of military facilities and equipment is an act that 鈥渟eriously endangers national security鈥�.

Joint use airports, or military-civilian airports, make up nearly a third of China精东影业 airports. Used for both military and civil aviation, these airports typically contain facilities of both a civil airport and a military air base. These airports are reserved for military use in times of war.

Examples of joint use airports outside of China are Destin-Fort Walton Beach Airport (VPS) in Florida, Belfast International Airport (BFS) in Northern Ireland, UK, and Singapore Changi Airport (SIN), sharing facilities with Changi Air Base.

North Korea warns of consequences for US spy planes violating its airspace

• Defense

byEmilia Stankeviciute

2023-07-10

The approval was announced by the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) on June 18, 2024. The potential transfer includes 291 Altius 600M-V unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) loitering munitions and 720 Switchblade 300 attack drones, with a combined value of $360.2 million.  

The Altius 600M-V is a loitering munition developed by Anduril Industries. It is designed for extended endurance and precision strike capabilities, making it effective in surveillance and attacking stationary and moving targets.聽

The Switchblade 300, produced by AeroVironment, is a tube-launched, expendable loitering munition. Compact, it is designed for rapid deployment and can be used for reconnaissance as well as precision strike missions against enemy personnel and light-armored targets. 

According to the DSCA, this sale, specifically requested by Taiwanese authorities, is intended to 鈥渉elp improve the security of the recipient and assist in maintaining political stability, military balance, and economic progress in the region.鈥�  

The Taiwan Presidency welcomed the announcement in a statement and thanked the US government for 鈥渃ontinuing to strengthen the Taiwan-U.S. partnership and jointly safeguarding regional peace and stability,鈥� Taiwan Presidency spokesperson Karen Kuo said. 

China strongly condemned the sales to Taiwan and urged the Biden administration to “revoke its erroneous decision,” according to a Chinese Ministry of Defense spokesperson speaking to China精东影业 Xinhua state news agency. 

Countering China精东影业 military mass with expendable drones 

Deployed in substantial quantities, these expandable systems would enable Taiwan to deter a Chinese invasion by saturating advancing forces and damaging or destroying costly equipment such as landing craft, warships, and ground-based launch systems. 

In November 2020, during the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijan prominently utilized Israel-manufactured loitering munitions, effectively destroying 59 Armenian vehicles, including trucks, artillery units, and tanks.  

The subsequent invasion of Ukraine by Russia confirmed the essential role of attritable systems in modern warfare. One-way attack drones proved effective in countering Russian military advances, while compact systems at the infantry level demonstrated their operational effectiveness, providing real-time reconnaissance and extending soldiers’ operational reach. 

The United States has included Altius and Switchblade drones in several of its aid packages for Kyiv. 

In August 2023, the US Department of Defense introduced the Replicator initiative to counter China精东影业 鈥渕ass鈥� and military expansion in the Indo-Pacific by using expendable drones. 

US military hopes to counter China’s military mass with expendable drones

• Defense

byClement Charpentreau

2023-08-29

Additionally, a pair of Chinese fighter jets and a helicopter approached the ship’s NH90 maritime attack helicopter while on patrol, creating a potentially unsafe situation in international airspace.

The Dutch Ministry shared photos depicting a Xi’an JH-7 “Flounder” two-seater ground attack aircraft and a Harbin Z-19 attack helicopter.

HNLMS Tromp was patrolling the East China Sea as part of a multinational UN group monitoring maritime sanctions enforcement against North Korea, per UN Security Council resolutions. Despite the incident, HNLMS Tromp continued its mission and sailed towards Japan.

Escalating interference in UN sanctions enforcement efforts

Similar incidents have occurred recently within the same UN mission. On May 4, 2024, the Australian guided-missile destroyer HMAS Hobart faced interference from a PLAAF J-10 fighter while its MH-60R Seahawk helicopter was conducting routine operations in the Yellow Sea as part of Operation Argos, Australia’s contribution to UN sanctions enforcement against North Korea.

Additionally, on October 16, 2023, a Royal Canadian Air Force Lockheed CP-140 Aurora maritime patrol aircraft was intercepted by two PLAAF fighters over the East China Sea while monitoring transport vessels around North Korea. The Canadian military described the Chinese maneuvers as “very aggressive.”

US releases new footage of 鈥榗oncerted鈥� aircraft harassment campaign by China

• Defense

byClement Charpentreau

2023-10-18

The claims that the possibility of a deal has been spurred on by President Xi Jinping精东影业 recent visit to France and his conversations with the French President Emmanuel Macron.聽

Those familiar with the development have said that the terms of a potential deal are still being discussed, and that as yet there is no sign of when an announcement could be made.  

The A330neo has been something of a disappointment to Airbus when compared to its predecessors, the A330-200 and A330-300.听听

Together, they accumulated 1,445 orders before being replaced by the improved, New Engine Option series. 

With China once again halting imports from Boeing, Airbus may be seizing its opportunity to present more attractive terms to the Chinese airlines to purchase A330neos. 

Major Chinese airlines to have been approached by Bloomberg regarding the sale include Air China, China Southern Airlines and China Eastern Airlines. 

This week, China Eastern Airlines took delivery of the first aircraft from its additional order of 100 jets of the Comac C919 type, a plane designed to rival similar offerings from Airbus and Boeing.  

The Chinese plane-maker delivered the first C919 in December 2022 to China Eastern Airlines, before entering commercial service until May 2023.  

After a successful outing at the Dubai Airshow in November 2023, Comac was touted as an aircraft manufacturer that could genuinely rival the Airbus and Boeing duopoly.听听

Turkish Airlines in talks with Boeing for up to 250 aircraft, 737 MAXs and 787s

• Airlines
• Aviation

byIan Molyneaux

2024-06-04

On June 2, 2024, the China National Space Administration announced that its Chang鈥檈-6 lunar lander, equipped with advanced instruments and its own launch system, touched down in the South Pole-Aitken Basin on the moon’s space-facing side at around 6:23 a.m. Beijing time.

According to the China National Space Administration statement, the Chang’e-6 lander is poised to collect two kilograms (approximately 4.4 pounds) of lunar material over two days and return it to Earth. Then, the samples will be loaded onto a rocket booster attached to the lander, which will then launch back into space, tag up with another spacecraft in lunar orbit, and return to Earth. If successful, the lunar lander is expected to land in China’s Inner Mongolia region around June 25, 2024.

鈥淐ompared with the Chang’e-5 mission, which achieved the return of samples from the moon in 2020, the Chang’e-6 mission has made a breakthrough in the design and control technology of the lunar retrograde orbit, and will complete key technical nodes such as intelligent rapid sampling on the lunar back and take-off and ascent on the lunar back with the support of the Queqiao-2 relay satellite,鈥� was written in the

The mission will provide China with a pristine record of the moon’s 4.5 billion-year history and yield new clues on the solar system’s formation. It will also allow for an unprecedented comparison between the dark, unexplored region with the moon’s better-understood Earth-facing side.

What we left behind: how human activity has already littered the Moon

• Space

byEmilia Stankeviciute

2023-11-02

The Chang’e-6 probe was launched on May 3 aboard China’s Long March 5 rocket from the Wenchang Satellite Launch Center on Hainan Island, the southernmost province of China. It reached the lunar vicinity approximately a week later and has since been adjusting its orbit in preparation for the landing.

The mission aligns with China精东影业 broader lunar strategy, which envisions landing its first astronauts on the moon by around 2030.

The Chang鈥檈-6 mission marks the world’s third lunar landing in 2024.

Daniel Duggan appeared in Downing Centre Local Court, Sydney, on May 25, 2024, where Magistrate Daniel Reiss concluded that the former marine pilot met the conditions of a US extradition order.聽

Duggan精东影业 fate now rests in the hands of the Australian Attorney General Mark Dreyfus, who must give the final approval for the extradition before it can take place.  

Duggan, who will be forced to wait in custody for this decision, has up to 15 days to launch an appeal against the judgement.  

According to , the 55-year-old was detained in Australia and accused of breaching arms trafficking and money laundering laws by training Chinese pilots in South Africa between 2009 and 2012.听听

Day 514. Today Saffrine finally gets to celebrate her birthday with her husband Dan: in a tiny see through visiting cell in Lithgow prison for just one hour. has no Australian charges or criminal history. Yet the Australian government chooses to lock him up in鈥�

— FreeDanDuggan (@FreeDanDuggan)

Duggan was arrested in New South Wales 19 months ago, after returning from China to join his family in Australia and has been detained since, according to .听听

The US indictment alleges that Duggan taught Chinese fighter pilots to land aircraft on carriers. 

Duggan denies all claims made against him and the allegations that he trained Chinese pilots have not yet been tested in a court of law.  

Duggan精东影业 supporters and family members insist that he is the victim of geopolitics, at a time when relations between China and the US are particularly strained.  

鈥淭his was no place to battle. There was no opening in the local court for my husband to run his case. Today was simply about ticking boxes, and it is time to move to the next stage. Now, we respectfully ask the Attorney-General to take another look at this case and bring my husband home,鈥� Saffrine Duggan said outside the court. 聽

US Air Force releases first official images of B-21 Raider during test flights聽

• Defense

byIan Molyneaux

2024-05-23

As reported by , the R枚ssli Hotel, located very close to the Meiringen Air Base set to house F-35A fighter-bombers from 2028, was bought in 2018 for 鈧�1 million by the Wang family from China.聽

In a previous investigation led by , it was revealed that the son of the Wang family, a student from a hotel school in Leysin, acquired the hotel in his name. The business was managed by his parents.

The hotel is located right on the edge of the air base perimeter, with a direct view over the runways. This acquisition was made before Switzerland announced its intention to acquire the fifth-generation fighter jets in 2022.

The situation took a turn when the US raised concerns about the security of Swiss bases, including the R枚ssli Hotel near the Meiringen base. This led to the Swiss authorities taking action, and the Wang family eventually had to leave the hotel.

The Wang family was eventually convicted of illegal stay in Switzerland, operating a hotel restaurant without a license, and lack of a work permit. They returned to China, and the R枚ssli Hotel was put up for sale. Officially, no evidence of espionage was found.

On May 4, 2024, the HMAS Hobart guided-missile destroyer was conducting routine operations in international waters within the Yellow Sea as part of Operation Argos, Australia精东影业 contribution to enforcing United Nations Security Council sanctions against North Korea.聽

During these operations, a Royal Australian Navy MH-60R Seahawk helicopter deployed from the HMAS Hobart was intercepted by a PLAAF J-10 fighter. 

鈥淭he PLA-AF aircraft released flares across the flight path of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) helicopter,鈥� the Australian government claims. 鈥淭his was an unsafe manoeuvre, which posed a risk to the aircraft and personnel.鈥� 

No damage was caused to the MH-60R helicopter, and no injuries were reported. The Australian government issued a formal note of concern to China. 

On October 16, 2023, a similar incident occurred within the context of the same UN mission. At the time, a Lockheed CP-140 Aurora maritime patrol aircraft operated by the Royal Canadian Air Force was monitoring transport vessels around North Korea when it was intercepted by two PLAAF fighters over the East China Sea. The latter conducted what the Canadian military described as 鈥渧ery aggressive鈥� maneuvers. 

Chinese fighters perform 鈥榰nsafe鈥� intercept of Canadian military plane: video

• Defense

byClement Charpentreau

2023-10-17