By 
January 10th, 2026
Image credit: CCTV/Inside Outer Space screengrab
China reports progress in performing scientific data simulations for the soon-to-launch Chinese Space Station Telescope (CSST).
The space station-tended facility is also known as the Xuntian Space Telescope. Its launch by a Long March 5B rocket from China’s Wenchang center was last reported to have slipped to the end of this year.
Xuntian will co-orbit with China’s Tiangong space station. Doing so, that would permit docking to the space station where repairs and upgrades could be performed by astronauts, thereby extending the telescopes operational lifespan potentially for decades.
Image credit: CCTV/Inside Outer Space screengrab
Overall performance
CSST reportedly offers a field of view 300 to 350 times larger than the NASA Hubble Space Telescope.
It is expected to facilitate major scientific discoveries across various astrophysical fields, including cosmology, the study of galaxies, the Milky Way, stars and planets, according to the National Astronomical Observatories under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (NAOC), which led the comprehensive evaluation of the telescope’s overall performance.
According to papers just published in the journal Research in Astronomy and Astrophysics, the CSST simulation work marks a crucial step in preparing for the country’s flagship space astronomy facility.
Image credit: CCTV/Inside Outer Space screengrab
The collection of papers spotlight mock observations for the Chinese Space Station Survey Telescope.
Flagship space-based observatory
The CSST is considered a flagship space-based observatory. Its main survey camera is designed to conduct high spatial resolution near-ultraviolet to near-infrared imaging and low-resolution spectroscopic surveys.
CSST is a two-meter aperture astronomical space telescope, equipped with multiple back-end scientific instruments.
To maximize the scientific output of CSST, Chinese researchers have developed a comprehensive, high-fidelity simulation pipeline for reproducing both imaging and spectroscopic observations.
Image credit: CCTV/Inside Outer Space screengrab
Exoplanet research
As noted in one paper, the Cool Planet Imaging Coronagraph (CPI-C) aboard the CSST “represents a major advancement in exoplanet research” and is set to make “significant contributions to our understanding of exoplanets in the Milky Way.”
To gain access to the research papers, go to “Special Issue: Mock Observations for the Chinese Space Station Survey Telescope” at:
https://www.raa-journal.org/issues/all/2026/v26n2/
Also, go to this newly released China Central Television (CCTV) video focused on the Chinese Space Station Telescope at:
https://www.facebook.com/reel/1470954067930276
Image credit: China Media Group
Posted in Space News
