Chinese scientists have successfully tested a new engine for the long-awaited, heavy-lift Long March 9 rocket. Called TF-79, the engine was developed by the Beijing Astronautics Experiment Institute of Technology (BAEIT) for China’s crewed moon missions and possibly interplanetary expeditions. TF-79’s development period suffered early setbacks but, after addressing the length and capacity of each…
Chinese electric vehicle (EV) startup, Xpeng, has launched the world’s fastest charging car to cities nationwide. Called the G9, the powerful sports utility vehicle (SUV) can add more than 250 kilometres (160 miles) of range in only a five-minute charging window. Xpeng, like many Chinese EV firms, is addressing range anxiety – the concern many…
China’s increasingly more cost-effective wind turbines have the potential to open up new markets. According to an S&P Global report published in late September, China’s ability to consistently manufacture and sell turbines below the European and US market average makes expansion into the often energy-deprived regions of Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East…
A group of Chinese scientists claims to have found a method to significantly cut the cost of commercial hypersonic travel. First picked up by the South China Morning Post, researchers claim an air-breathing engine, fuelled by a mixture of ethylene and ultra-fine coal powder, can create explosive shock waves that travel six times faster than…
The first road test for magnetic levitation (maglev) vehicles has been conducted by engineers representing China’s Southwest Jiaotong University. First reported by the state-run news agency, Xinhua Daily, the university research unit raised a near 2.8-tonne sedan 25 millimetres off the ground and propelled the vehicle down a test track by way of electromagnets. China…
China is preparing to certify its answer to Boeing and Airbus this month. The C919 commercial airliner, developed by the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (Comac) has already received orders from several domestic airlines and has been described as the realisation of “a Chinese dream”. FlightRadar24, a real-time flight tracking service, identified two C919s landing…
A Chinese research team claims to have developed nanogenerators capable of harvesting power from the ocean’s waves via static electricity. Harnessing energy from waves is not an entirely novel concept. In fact, scientists have toyed with the notion for centuries. In 1799, a Parisian engineer called Girard filed what most scholars believe to be the…
In a world-first, China has approved the production and use of an inhalable Covid-19 vaccine. Created by Tianjin-based CanSino Biologics, the breathable mist has received the green light for use as a primary and booster shot from several countries and the World Health Organisation (WHO). The globe has battled the spread of the virus for…
Chinese engineers announced a successful maiden test flight of a massive solar-powered drone in the country’s northwest, according to state media outlet, CGNT. Called Qimingxing-50 or ‘Morning Star’ 50, researchers are confident the unmanned craft could make meaningful contributions to the country’s security, communications and ecological sectors. Taking off from the a runway, Qimingxing-50’s debut…
Chinese astronauts have successfully grown rice aboard the Tiangong Space Station. The young seedlings could offer tremendous insight into how food could be grown in space on a larger scale, so as to support longer crewed missions and even off-planet colonies, said officials at the Chinese National Space Agency (CNSA). Plants and flowers have been…