
AI-generated summary
China continues to develop its commercial space industry and launches from offshore platforms.
The Chinese company OrienSpace launched the Gravity-1 rocket with nine spacecraft (SV) from an offshore platform off the coast of Shanghai. Xinhua reports this.
The launch of the launch vehicle took place on Wednesday, September 16, at 01:00 Moscow time. Among the launched spacecraft are eight satellites of the SpaceSail constellation and one device for testing high-speed wireless communications.
Earlier, the Zhuque-2E rocket of the Chinese company LandSpace launched ten satellites of the SpaceSail system of the operator Shanghai Yuanxin Satellite Technology.
The three-stage Gravity-1 rocket has a fairing diameter of 4.2 meters and reaches a height of 30 meters. The carrier is capable of delivering 6.5 tons of payload into low Earth orbit.

Doctor of Technical Sciences Alexander Nikitin spoke about the characteristics of the Russian satellite communications “Rassvet”, which will become an analogue of Starlink, its orbit and plans to launch about 900 satellites by 2035.

Russian Academy of Sciences President Gennady Krasnikov said Russia's lunar program is on track, including the launch of the Luna 26, Luna 27A and Luna 27B satellites in the coming years, with the latter two expected to land at the lunar poles.

Russian cosmonaut Andrei Fedyaev, as part of the international crew of the Crew-12 mission, will return to Earth from the International Space Station on October 8 after almost eight months in orbit, starting in mid-February. Undocking is scheduled for October 7, splashdown off the coast of California is expected at 11:34 local time (18:34 Moscow time).

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared the inadmissibility of the militarization of space and its transformation into an instrument of the arms race, emphasizing the need for international cooperation. He noted that Turkey attaches special importance to the development of access to space and the creation of a spaceport within the framework of the National Space Program, and also announced the start of construction of a spaceport in Somalia as part of cooperation with this country.

Russia’s Soyuz-2 carrier rocket has been transported to the Baikonur Cosmodrome for the launch of the Prichal module to the International Space Station, as announced by Roscosmos Chief, with the launch scheduled for November 24.

NASA astronaut Jessica Meir will hand over command of the International Space Station to Roscosmos cosmonaut Pyotr Dubrov on Sunday, October 4, NASA said.