China successfully launched a new generation rocket and then recovered the probe it carried into space over the weekend. Space program authorities said Saturday’s launch of the Long March 7 rocket from China’s new Wenchang Satellite Launch Center and Sunday’s recovery of the module on the Mongolian steppe keeps China on pace to put its second space station, the Tiangong 2, into orbit later this year, the Associated Press reported. The launch is scheduled for September. Once the space station is in orbit, two astronauts carried aloft in the Shenzhou 11 spaceship will dock with the station and remain aboard for several days. China plans to land a rover on Mars by 2020 and may attempt to land its astronauts on the moon sometime in the future.
The Pentagon has concluded a new agreement to buy laser-guidance kits that turn rockets into drone-killing weapons. BAE Systems and the Defense Department announced a framework deal of up to seven years for 25,000 Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System guidance kits annually for the U.S. military.