Andrew Jones
@andrewjonesspace.bsky.social
Freelance journalist mainly tracking Chinese space activities. Correspondent at SpaceNews, also bylines at Spacedotcom, IEEE Spectrum and more.
Patch sent up on the emergency Shenzhou-22 launch. Two astronauts embarked on an EVA to image the crack, suspected to be caused by debris, and applied the patch. Then SZ-20 was deorbited.
January 19, 2026 at 9:48 PM
Patch sent up on the emergency Shenzhou-22 launch. Two astronauts embarked on an EVA to image the crack, suspected to be caused by debris, and applied the patch. Then SZ-20 was deorbited.
Yeah, we're waiting for pics of the actual window and EVA patch 😄
January 19, 2026 at 10:29 AM
Yeah, we're waiting for pics of the actual window and EVA patch 😄
Well spotted! Jerboa?
January 18, 2026 at 10:49 PM
Well spotted! Jerboa?
Two completely different launchers. One, a venerable hypergolic rocket from the state side, the other, a new solid rocket from a commercial entity. China had 2 failures from 92 attempts overall last year, but 2 already in 2026. First outright failure for a Long March in almost 300 launches.
January 18, 2026 at 9:02 AM
Two completely different launchers. One, a venerable hypergolic rocket from the state side, the other, a new solid rocket from a commercial entity. China had 2 failures from 92 attempts overall last year, but 2 already in 2026. First outright failure for a Long March in almost 300 launches.
Their original Shenzhou-20 spacecraft is expected to return to Earth early on Monday.
CMSA link to the press conference: www.cmse.gov.cn/xwzx/202601/...
CMSA link to the press conference: www.cmse.gov.cn/xwzx/202601/...
January 16, 2026 at 9:34 AM
Their original Shenzhou-20 spacecraft is expected to return to Earth early on Monday.
CMSA link to the press conference: www.cmse.gov.cn/xwzx/202601/...
CMSA link to the press conference: www.cmse.gov.cn/xwzx/202601/...
Correction: the stage successfully tested guidance for a future stage return, not an actual powered landing. This looks like it was a solid propellant stage with grid fins and no landing legs.
January 12, 2026 at 11:25 AM
Correction: the stage successfully tested guidance for a future stage return, not an actual powered landing. This looks like it was a solid propellant stage with grid fins and no landing legs.
Just stating it's a suborbital launch, given the recent orbital recovery attempts.
January 12, 2026 at 10:57 AM
Just stating it's a suborbital launch, given the recent orbital recovery attempts.