In a major display of technical ingenuity, China has successfully rescued two satellites—DRO-A and DRO-B—that were stuck in the wrong orbit for 123 days following a launch failure. The satellites, part of China’s distant retrograde orbit (DRO) constellation, were saved using a series of complex gravitational slingshot manoeuvres that turned a near-disaster into a milestone in space navigation. This recovery mission not only preserved critical hardware but also highlighted China’s growing expertise in orbital mechanics, space rescue operations, and deep-space navigation technologies.

Innovative Thinking in critical condition

According to a recent story by CGTN, on March 15, 2024, China launched two satellites that were mounted on a Long March-2C rocket with a Yuanzheng-1S upper stage. While the launch initially appeared to be successful, a malfunction in the upper stage made the satellites tumble and head towards Earth much closer than planned. With limited power and damaged systems, conventional recovery was impossible.

Zhang Hao, a researcher at the Technology and Engineering Center for Space Utilisation (CSU), described the moment the team learned of the issue in an interview with CGTN Digital: “If the satellites were destroyed, that would have been a waste of the years of effort that we put in and the money invested in the mission. It would also be a mental blow to the team.”

CSU engineers divided into two teams—one worked to stabilise the spinning satellites, while Zhang’s team focused on calculating a new trajectory using gravitational assists. “We calculated the best route to move the satellites back on track,” Zhang explained during the interview.

A Gravity-Assisted Comeback

The mission exploited the gravitational pulls of Earth, the Moon, and even the Sun to carefully nudge the satellites into their target DRO positions. The technique is commonly applied in deep space missions, and it needs a minimal amount of fuel, which makes it a feasible way to bypass the fuel shortage. The most critical manoeuvre lasted just 20 minutes but took weeks of preparation. “I got more and more stressed as the clock ticked,” Zhang admitted. “I just kept staring at the screen until it said ‘normal, ‘” he further added.

Now successfully positioned, DRO-A and DRO-B have joined the earlier DRO-L to form a three-satellite constellation. According to CSU researcher Mao Xinyuan, the network will drastically reduce spacecraft positioning times—from days to just a few hours—and support autonomous navigation between Earth and the Moon.

This mission not only salvaged valuable satellites but also demonstrated China’s growing capability in autonomous spaceflight and long-distance orbital engineering.

SpaceX has successfully sent another batch of Starlink satellites into space on Monday, marking its second launch of the day. At 10:34 p.m. EDT (0234 GMT on April 29), a brand-new Falcon 9 rocket carried 23 Starlink broadband satellites, including 13 equipped with direct-to-cell capability, from NASA’s Kennedy Space Centre in Florida. Earlier today, a separate Falcon 9 launched 27 Starlink satellites from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The rapid double mission highlights SpaceX’s pace in expanding its Internet constellation, which already stands as the largest of its kind ever deployed.

Brand-New Falcon 9 Lands After Launching 23 Starlink Satellites to Orbit

According to a Space.com report, this launch was significant as it was the first flight for this specific Falcon 9 rocket’s first stage. SpaceX’s boosters see multiple missions, with one record-setting booster achieving 27 flights to date. Despite being brand new, the first stage of the Falcon 9 made a flawless landing approximately eight minutes after launch, gently landing on the “A Shortfall of Gravitas” droneship stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.

Meanwhile, the rocket’s upper stage continued its journey, carrying the 23 Starlink satellites toward low Earth orbit (LEO). The satellites were released about 65 minutes after liftoff, joining — or more aptly, surrounding — the ever-growing constellation of Starlink spacecraft. With tonight’s successful deployment, SpaceX is one step closer to achieving its mission of offering global broadband coverage using thousands of satellites working together.

SpaceX Marks 50th Falcon 9 Launch of 2025, Expanding Starlink to 7,200 Satellites

SpaceX’s 50th Falcon 9 mission of 2025, devoted to growing the Starlink network, is a highlight of the company’s relentless launch cadence, with 33 missions dedicated to the project, which now counts more than 7,200 operating satellites.

SpaceX is still growing out its satellite constellation and refining its launch-and-recovery technology. The fact that the company was able to pull off two successful Starlink missions in a single day demonstrates just how well SpaceX has been able to finesse the balance between reusability with new hardware.

NASA’s astronomers got a rare chance to study Uranus when the planet moved in front of a distant star — a rare event called a “stellar occultation.” The occultation of Uranus occurred the morning of the April 7th and lasted for one hour. The occulation was visible from western North America and it was the first bright Uranian occultation since 1996. The Langley NASA Research Centre mobilised an international team of more than 30 scientists who combined observations from 18 observatories to gather important facts. The contribution of these two groups, together, led to phase coverage being restored and was key to the possibility of investigating the vertical structure of its atmosphere.

NASA’s Rare Uranus Occultation Unlocks New Atmospheric and Ring Discoveries

According to Space.com, planetary scientist William Saunders stressed the enormity of the effort and that it could not have been accomplished without the help of every telescope. “By observing this occultation from so many large telescopes at so many altitudes, we can determine the temperature structure of Uranus’ atmosphere at a level of detail that was not possible before,” Saunders stated. As per NASA’s official release, the newly gathered data could significantly advance plans for future Uranus exploration missions.

During the occultation, researchers measured the temperatures and chemical composition of Uranus’ stratosphere, capturing changes unseen since the last event nearly three decades ago. Uranus is about 2 billion miles (3.2 billion kilometres) from Earth. Uranus has no firm surface; rather, it is covered by a swirling mass of water, ammonia, and methane clouds. This low-freezing-point substance is the slushy, icy layer that veneers a volumetric rocky mantle, which is surrounded by an atmosphere of mostly hydrogen and helium.

The scientists also observed that ice and gas giants like Uranus may be natural laboratories for learning about atmospheres. This absence of solid ground means that cloud formation, storm development, and connections between wind patterns are all part of a unified system— a kind of warm, wet, swirling ocean of air that we call the atmosphere.

This is according to postdoctoral researcher Emma Dahl of the California Institute of Technology. “We can find out why we have clouds, why we have storms, and why we have wind, not from the many thousands of objects that we have on the surface here on the Earth, but from the total atmosphere that we have over the mountain,” Dahl said in the NASA statement.

Over the next six years, Uranus will occult several dimmer stars, offering further chances to observe the process, according to NASA officials. But the next big event with a brighter star is expected in 2031, presenting yet another opportunity for astronomers to refine their ideas of this remote ice giant’s highly active atmosphere and delicate rings.