Posted: Sun, Aug 17 11:37 AM ET (1537 GMT)
A Chinese commercial Zhuque-2 rocket failed to reach orbit in a launch Thursday. The Zhuque-2E methane-liquid oxygen rocket, built by Landspace, lifted off at around 9:17 pm EDT (0117 GMT Friday) from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. Video of the launch showed a white plume coming from the vehicle less than two minutes after liftoff. Landspace confirmed the loss of the mission more than eight hours after liftoff but did not disclose details about the failure. Landspace did not identify the payloads on board. The launch was the sixth launch of the Zhuque-2 series and ended a run of four successful flights after the failure of its inaugural launch in late 2022.

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Posted: Sun, Aug 17 11:33 AM ET (1533 GMT)
China has performed the first static-fire test of the Long March 10 rocket. A shortened first stage test article with seven YF-100K ignited at 3 am EDT (0700 GMT) Friday from a pad at the Wenchang spaceport. The test lasted about 30 seconds. The China Manned Space Engineering Office suggested additional tests may follow. The successful test is a key step in the development of the Long March 10, a three-core, three-stage launcher designed for China’s crewed lunar landing program. A single-core version, Long March 10A, could start launching as soon as next year.

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•  SpaceNews article
•  Xinhua article

California commission votes against increase in SpaceX Vandenberg launches
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