China and Private Industry Space Exploration

[selvaarchi]

"OneSpace of China tests vertical assembly of rocket ahead of debut launch"

https://gbtimes.com/onespace-of-chin...f-debut-launch

They now plan their 1st launch end of this month.

http://english.cctv.com/2018/05/04/A...c9180504.shtml

While SpaceX is leading the trend of commercial spaceflight in the United States, China's first private rocket producer is quietly preparing for what it calls the first flight of a carrier rocket designed and made completely by a private company from China.

Shu Chang, founder and chief executive of OneSpace Technology, a privately owned startup in Beijing that develops and builds carrier rockets, said in an exclusive interview that the maiden launch of the company's OS-X0 solid-fuel rocket is set to take place in May at a test field in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region.

Engineers at OneSpace have finished most of the testing on the rocket, which was recently transported from the company's manufacturing facility in Beijing to the test field, he said.

"We designed and made the rocket, including its engine, on our own, and no one has done so before us, so it is fair to call it the first privately developed Chinese rocket," Shu said. "Once the test flights prove successful, the OS-X series will be tasked with performing technological demonstration flights for testing new types of aircraft or spacecraft."

[selvaarchi]

They now plan their 1st launch end of this month.

http://english.cctv.com/2018/05/04/A...c9180504.shtml

Confirmation the suborbital launch will be on the 21st of this month.

https://gbtimes.com/chinese-private-...7?cat=business

Chinese space company OneSpace Technology Co. revealed on Tuesday that they would attempt the first launch of its solid-fuelled OS-X suborbital rocket on May 17, 2018.

The announcement was made in Chongqing in southwest China, where the company has a major base, with officials stating that preparations for the launch are ongoing at an undisclosed location in Northwest China.

The launch date announcement follows a vertical assembly test on April 11, using independently developed equipment to transport and erect the rocket, and successful tests of its solid-propellant engine in December.

The rocket for the May 17 test flight has been Chongqing Liangjiang Star, taken from the company's manufacturing base in the Chongqing Liangjiang New Area, an economic zone named for where the two rivers, Yangtze and Jialing, meet.

The OS-X is a rocket which uses a solid engine with a thrust of 350 kilonewtons (kN)and has been designed for suborbital flights in order to provide high-altitude research and test services.

[selvaarchi]

Since China opened up the space activities to private industry, over 60 private Chinese firms have picked up the challenge.

http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/201..._137175948.htm

Launching rockets and satellites has long been the preserve of China's state-owned aerospace companies, but private space firms are now popping up hoping to find gold in the space dust.

A report by Beijing-based investment institution FutureAerospace says more than 60 private Chinese firms have entered the commercial space industry over the past three years, focusing on the production and launch of satellites and rockets.

Most of the companies are based in Beijing, home to many space experts, as well as Guangdong, Shaanxi and Hubei provinces, where the manufacturing industry is more developed.

This follows a government policy issued in 2015 to encourage private enterprises in space.

Analysts say commercial space activity could help lower costs and increase efficiency of space activities, and accelerate the technology development.

[selvaarchi]

Another article saying " Chinese commercial launch sector nears takeoff with suborbital rocket test".

http://spacenews.com/chinese-commerc...l-rocket-test/

In the early hours of April 5 on Hainan Island, Chinese company Space Honor, or i-Space, successfully sent a single-stage solid-propellant rocket over the Karman line to an altitude of 108 kilometers.

The low-key test was a step in the development of an orbital 1.4-meter diameter, 20-meter tall Hyperbola-1 rocket, which the company aims to test launch in June 2019 with the capability of sending a 300-kilogram payload into low Earth orbit. Hyperbola-3, expected to debut before the end of 2021, will be capable of lofting two metric tons to LEO.

[selvaarchi]

This is a historic day for China's private industry as one of the companies launched a suborbital rocket. None of normal sources reported the launch and I picked it up from CNN.

http://money.cnn.com/2018/05/16/tech...tup/index.html

OneSpace, a startup based in Beijing, on Thursday became the country's first private company to launch its own rocket. It said its 9-meter-tall OS-X rocket successfully blasted off from a base in northwestern China.

The aim of the mission is to collect data for a research project the startup is working on with the Aviation Industry Corporation of China, a state-owned company.

[selvaarchi]

More information from SpaceDaily.

http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Ch...ocket_999.html

A suborbital rocket was launched into space Thursday by a start-up in China's burgeoning commercial aeronautics industry, as private firms snap at the heels of their dominant American rivals.

OneSpace, the Beijing-based company behind the launch, is one of dozens of Chinese rivals jostling for a slice of the global space industry, estimated to be worth about $339 billion by Bank of America Merrill Lynch and currently dominated by SpaceX and Blue Origin in the US.

Its nine-metre (30-foot) "Chongqing Liangjiang Star" rocket took off from an undisclosed test field in China's northwest and reached an altitude of 273 kilometres (170 miles) before falling back to Earth, the company said in a statement.

[7cscb]

Selvaarchi,

We are all dumber for reading this. SpaceDaily and its associates makes us all dumber.


The following statement is nonsense:

"OneSpace, the Beijing-based company behind the launch, is one of dozens of Chinese rivals jostling for a slice of the global space industry, estimated to be worth about $339 billion by Bank of America Merrill Lynch and currently dominated by SpaceX and Blue Origin in the US."

[selvaarchi]

Selvaarchi,

We are all dumber for reading this. SpaceDaily and its associates makes us all dumber.


The following statement is nonsense:

"OneSpace, the Beijing-based company behind the launch, is one of dozens of Chinese rivals jostling for a slice of the global space industry, estimated to be worth about $339 billion by Bank of America Merrill Lynch and currently dominated by SpaceX and Blue Origin in the US."

Here they are only looking at the commercial sector and not government space agencies.

[selvaarchi]

"'China's Elon Musk' ready to take on US space ventures"

https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Com...space-ventures

The Chinese startup that launched the nation's first commercial rocket on Thursday aims to be a major global player in the space launch business.

Beijing-based OneSpace, led by 32-year-old CEO Shu Chang, sent up the OS-X Chongqing Liangjiang Star from a site in Inner Mongolia at 7:33 a.m. The 9-meter-long, 7.2-ton rocket traveled a total of 273km during the five-minute flight, soaring as high as 38.7km.

"I hope we can become one of the world's foremost small-satellite launchers," Shu told reporters.

OneSpace enjoys a notable cost advantage. A rocket launch comes in under $5 million -- less than one-third the international average.

[selvaarchi]

spacenews on "The rise of China’s private space industry".

http://spacenews.com/analysis-the-ri...pace-industry/

The Chinese space industry is often misunderstood in the West.

And no wonder.

Between the alphabet soup of state-owned enterprises (CASC, CAST, CALT, and CASIC are four different, albeit related companies), the language barrier, and the fact that good information is hard to find, the Chinese market can be maddeningly confusing even for the most seasoned China observers.

One of the biggest gaps between perception and reality is the idea that Chinese aerospace industry is a handful of huge, state-owned companies that do everything.

This could not be further from the truth; the number of private Chinese space companies are growing. Often occupying highly niche market segments, China’s private space ventures are making very real technological breakthroughs (or at the very least, catching up with the West increasingly quickly).

Beijing LandSpace Technology Corporation Limited (LandSpace) is Exhibit A. The privately owned launch vehicle manufacturer founded in 2015 recently completed a 200 million yuan ($35 million) Series B funding round, with this coming around two years after a Series A round of half that amount. All of the company’s funding has come from private (i.e. non-government) sources.

In addition to the recently completed funding round and customer commitments, the company also took an important step on the technology front with the successful test of Phoenix, 10-ton liquid-oxygen/methane rocket engine.

[selvaarchi]

China's commercial companies are also moving into the satellite business.

http://www.spacetechasia.com/chinas-...road-newspace/

Last week, Singapore held its annual telecommunications trade show CommunicAsia, which saw satellite communication (satcom) being a prominent part of the event.

Among the highlights of the show was a panel discussion on China’s satcom market, comprised entirely of Chinese companies.

Said APT’s Huang, “Originally, according to Chinese regulations, only licensed state-owned enterprises, 100% owned by the government, could engage in space activities. But now, the private sector can [enter the market].”

As such, China has witnessed a sudden burst of space-related activity in the private sector, especially in the past two years. Of these private sector players, startups working on reusable launchers and small satellites have attracted the greatest attention.

Besides these startups, large companies are also looking to expand their portfolios by entering the space industry. Their plans include remodelling themselves to become satellite operators, with plans to acquire their first geostationary communication satellites (GEO satellites) and thereby go global.

[selvaarchi]

China's commercial company, One Space, successfully tested the 1st stage of its M-series family of rockets.

http://www.spacetechasia.com/chinese...rbital-rocket/

On 4 July, One Space, a Chinese NewSpace startup developing low-cost launch vehicles, successfully tested the first stage rocket motor of its M-series family of rockets.

The success of this test means One Space is on track for the first test launch of OS-M1, the first of its M-series launch vehicles, scheduled for end-2018.

OS-M1, a four-stage solid propellant rocket, will be 19m long, with a liftoff mass of 20 tonnes. The launch vehicle will be able to carry a maximum payload of 205kg to Low Earth Orbit (LEO), and 143kg to the Sun-Synchronous Orbit (SSO).

[selvaarchi]

China's LandSpace company hopes to challenge SpaceX in the coming years.

http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1109915.shtml

China is scheduled to launch its first commercial medium-sized rocket by 2020, which is capable of carrying up to a four-ton payload to low earth orbit (LEO).

The ZQ-2, powered by liquid methane-liquid oxygen fueled engines, was developed by LandSpace, a private rocket manufacturer based in Beijing.

At 48.8-meters tall and weighing 216 tons, the ZQ-2's four-ton payload capacity to low earth orbit would rank third in the world in terms of payload, the company said at a press conference on Thursday.

A future version of the rocket is expected to surpass the SpaceX Falcon 9's payload capacity, according to the company.

The company owns complete intellectual property rights of the ZQ-2.

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China's LandSpace company hopes to challenge SpaceX in the coming years.

http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1109915.shtml

Well you gotta start somewhere. But this is not a challenge to even today's rocketry standards. SpacedX is already at Falcon Heavy and BFR is in the offing. And the Amazon rocket will be off soon enough. These are beyond dreams, blueprint and even Global Times' rah rah coverage.

Also, extremely aggressive pricing but no mention of reusability seems odd.

[selvaarchi]

More details of Landspace's Zhuque-2 (ZQ-2) rocket and other commercial players in China.

http://spacenews.com/commercial-chin...ital-launches/

More immediately, Landspace plans to launch its first LandSpace-1 (LS-1) three-stage solid rocket by September, which will carry a satellite to be used by China Central Television (CCTV), according to state media.

A successful orbital launch would be a first for a private Chinese company, but in recent months two other startups, OneSpace and i-Space, have launched their own suborbital rockets.

In May, OneSpace launched its first OS-X series solid rocket, named Chongqing Liangjiang Star, to an altitude of almost 40 kilometers, capturing widespread attention. With less fanfare, iSpace sent its Hyperbola-1S solid rocket above the Karman line from Hainan in April.

More progress has followed. OneSpace, established in 2015, last week announced it had test fired the first stage rocket motor for its OS-M1, the first of an orbital series of rockets, which is now expected to fly before the end of 2018. The launcher is expected to be able to carry a 205-kilogram payload to 300-kilometer LEO, and 73 kilograms to 800-kilometer SSO.

Meanwhile iSpace, set up in 2016, stated that it has received financing worth 600 million yuan ($90.6 million) within a year after securing new capital in a Series A funding from investors led by Matrix Partners China, Caixin reported July 2.

[selvaarchi]

We just had a launch from a private commercial company on Wednesday, and now it looks like another company will launch tomorrow. One or two more more are planned in the 4th quarter.

https://gbtimes.com/china-set-for-su...ight-on-friday

China appears set to launch a Long March rocket to loft an unknown satellite from Tiayuan, north China on Friday, while Jiuquan in the northwest will host the launch of a suborbital rocket belonging to commercial startup OneSpace.

[selvaarchi]

"OneSpace successfully launched its second suborbital rocket from a site in the Gobi Desert on Friday"

https://gbtimes.com/chinese-startup-...-space-program

Chinese space startup OneSpace successfully launched its second suborbital rocket from a site in the Gobi Desert on Friday, marking a step towards an orbital rocket flight expected before the end of 2018.

The Chongqing Liangjiang Star rocket lifted off at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre at 04:10 UTC (12:10 local), reaching an altitude of around 35 kilometres during a flight of 200 seconds, travelling 169 km, in accordance with requirements from the customer. No information on the payload has been released.

It follows a suborbital test by another company in the emerging Chinese space launch sector, iSpace, from the same launch centre just two days prior.

[selvaarchi]

"OneSpace successfully launched its second suborbital rocket from a site in the Gobi Desert on Friday"

Now see a viedo of the launch from space!!!

https://gbtimes.com/amazing-footage-...ideo-satellite

A Chinese remote sensing satellite has captured stunning footage of a suborbital rocket launch taking place at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in the Gobi Desert.

The Jilin-1 satellite was orbiting at around 535 kilometres above the Earth as the OS-X1 rocket lifted off from Jiuquan at 12:10 local time (04:10 UTC) on Friday.

The video satellite managed to capture the early moments of the 200-second flight, which reached an altitude of around 35 kilometers, showing the solid-fuelled rocket quickly climbing.

[selvaarchi]

China is considering building a new launch centre for emerging commercial launch companies.

https://gbtimes.com/china-is-conside...unch-companies

The Chinese government is studying the construction of an open commercial space launch centre for the country's emerging private launch companies, which will soon be attempting their first orbital flights.

China took the decision to open the launch vehicle and remote sensing satellite areas of its space sector in 2014, leading to the founding of a number of commercial space companies.

Space startups OneSpace and iSpace, also known as Space Honor and Interstellar Glory, both launched suborbital rockets from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in the Gobi Desert earlier this month. Meanwhile Beijing-based Landspace is aiming for the first flight of its Zhuque-1 orbital rocket in the final quarter of 2018.

[selvaarchi]

The Chinese commercial companies are about to launch satellites into space, starting with Expace tomorrow and Landspace at the end of October.

https://gbtimes.com/expace-of-china-...n-september-29

Chinese commercial company Expace will launch its second Kuaizhou-1A launch vehicle from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre on September 29, according to airspace closure notices.

According to a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) filed with aviation authorities, liftoff will take place between 04:05 and 04:36 universal time (12:05-12:36 local, 00:05-00:36 Eastern).

The 20-metre-tall, 1.4-meter-diameter Kuaizhou-1A solid-fuelled rocket is capable of lifting 200 kg of payload to a 700 km Sun-synchronous orbit.

It will launch a small satellite named Centispace-1-S1, about which very little is known.

[selvaarchi]

"China increases investment in emerging private space industry"

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/10/10/chin...-industry.html

China is upping bets on private space companies, leading among countries expanding market share in the nascent industry during the third quarter, according a report from Space Angels, an investing firm specializing in private space ventures.

Chinese space companies drew $69 million of investment in the third quarter, more than any other country in that time. This year has seen China already pour $217 million in space companies, nearly matching the $230 million invested in all of last year.

Of the $16.1 billion invested in private space companies and partnerships since 2009, China now represents 3 percent, with about half a billion dollars. That may not seem like much – but nearly all of China's investment has come since 2016.

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Interview with "One Space CEO on its progress, plans, and China’s space industry".

http://www.spacetechasia.com/intervi...pace-industry/

One Space is a Chinese startup currently developing launch vehicles for the small satellite and microsatellite market. The company was founded in 2015 by Shu Chang, who graduated from Beihang University (formerly Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics) and began his career in strategic investment in the aerospace industry at Legend Holdings in China.

Initially, with the liberalisation of China’s policies, Shu wanted to invest in aerospace companies. Finding no ideal investment target, he started One Space with the help of his university tutor Mr. Mach. Now, One Space employs about 200 people is headquartered in Beijing with branches in Shenzhen, Chongqing, and Xi’an.

So far, One Space has flight-tested its OS-X series of suborbital rockets, and is almost ready to test its OS-M series of orbital launch vehicles, which will be able to take about 200kg to Low Earth Orbit (LEO).

SpaceTech Asia speaks to Shu Chang, Founder and CEO of One Space, about the company’s progress and plans, as well as China’s commercial space industry.

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Interview with "One Space CEO on its progress, plans, and China’s space industry".

http://www.spacetechasia.com/intervi...pace-industry/

Hmm. Weird answer wrt reusability. But the guy sure seems enthusiastic.

I think the small/micro SAT market will be served by bigger rockets at lower $/kg and nobody will survive in this niche alone. But he also talks of human capsule, on top of their own booster?

[selvaarchi]

Hmm. Weird answer wrt reusability. But the guy sure seems enthusiastic.

I think the small/micro SAT market will be served by bigger rockets at lower $/kg and nobody will survive in this niche alone. But he also talks of human capsule, on top of their own booster?

SpaceX also started with small rockets before moving to reusability and human capsule.

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SpaceX also started with small rockets before moving to reusability and human capsule.

Yup, and I suppose that is also a takeaway from the interview as he cites USA private enterprise and SpaceX as models to emulate.

I also note SpacedX abandoned small rockets, supporting my argument they are too expensive in terms of $/kg of payload. And they believe the size/price/payload advantage will continue with BFR.

[selvaarchi]

Now a Chinese company plans to launch up to 4 tons to LEO.

https://gbtimes.com/chinese-rocket-c...launch-vehicle

A young Chinese private launch company named Galactic Energy has stated that it is developing a launch vehicle capable of lifting four metric tonnes to a 200 km low Earth orbit.

Xinghe Power (星河动力), also known as Galactic Energy, released its official 'Pallas-1' concept via its WeChat channel on Monday, stating it aims to debut the launch vehicle in December 2022, along with another plan for a smaller, solid propellant launcher.

The 42 metre high rocket will use kerosene and liquid oxygen propellant and be capable of carrying a payload of up to four tonnes to low Earth orbit (LEO) or two tonnes to 700 km altitude Sun-synchronous orbit (SSO).

The 3.35 diameter of the launcher is the same as many Long March vehicles, developed by the main Chinese space programme contractor CASC, suggesting the company has or will have access to such technology to assist its plans and development.

The addition of grid fins at the top of the first stage in the illustration also hints at possible vertical landing and reusability plans.

[selvaarchi]

This weeks space review carries an article on China's commercial rocket companies. It also shows they have expended their requirement for skill staff to overseas.

http://www.thespacereview.com/article/3607/1

By comparison, the journey of MinoSpace, founded in August 2017, was much smoother. In just about one year since its establishment, the company has secured satellite deals valued more than 200 million RMB (US$30 million). It not only showed that China has a large requirement for small satellites, but also proved that MinoSpace has a strong competitive power. Its founder and board director Dr. Shufan Wu had worked in Europe for 17 years, including 12 years at ESA, and was former CTO of Shanghai Microsatellite Engineering Centre, CAS. Another founder, MinoSpace CEO Dr. Enyu Gao, is from CAST, China’s most renowned satellite developer.

[selvaarchi]

"Evolving Chinese Space Ecosystem To Foster Innovative Environment"

http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Ev...nment_999.html

According to Euroconsult's latest report, China Space Industry 2018, the China space value chain had an estimated size of more than $16 billion in 2017, with the downstream market accounting for just over 85%. Satellite Navigation, one of the key satellite applications in China, was the main revenue generator in 2017, ahead of Satellite Communications and Earth Observation.

This premier edition of the report provides a deep-dive analysis of the current Chinese space ecosystem and future expected evolutions, from upstream to downstream, and covers each of the key satellite applications in China: Satellite Manufacturing, Launch, Satellite Communications, Earth Observation, Satellite Navigation and Space Exploration.

For each of the markets, key current and potential future players expected to have an impact on the ecosystem are profiled, including details on their strategies, funding, technological competencies and potential future plans.

"China's space industry is rapidly evolving, with an increasing number of nominally private companies competing in different parts of the space industry in both China and abroad, and with the Chinese space industry starting to play a bigger role in cutting-edge technology," said Dimitri Buchs, Senior Consultant at Euroconsult and editor of the report.

"Changes are occurring at a rapid pace across the value chain, for both upstream and downstream activities and for all application domains."

[selvaarchi]

China's 1st private rocket factory begins operation.

http://www.ecns.cn/news/2018-12-21/d...k8715600.shtml

The first privately owned carrier rocket factory in China, and the largest of its kind in Asia, recently began operations and is set to build what is expected to be the country's biggest privately designed rocket.

Zhang Changwu, founder and CEO of LandSpace, a rocket-maker in Beijing, said on Thursday that the factory in Huzhou, Zhejiang province, is currently being used to conduct technical tests of the company's newly developed TQ-12 rocket engine.

He said production of the engine and the ZQ 2 liquid-propellant carrier rocket will begin in 2019 at the factory, adding that the ZQ 2, which will be propelled by the TQ-12, is scheduled to carry out its first flight in 2020. Except for the Huzhou facility, all carrier rocket factories in China belong to State-owned space entities such as China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp.

[selvaarchi]

Interview with Zhuhai, Yang Yiqiang (Yang), the first commander-in-chief of the Long March 11 solid-fuel carrier rockets project.

http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1133887.shtml

While commercialization has become a common noun in a world that's being propelled by business innovation, its usage in the space sector remains something new, which is especially true with China's space missions. Nonetheless, with the country's Long March carrier rocket series and an array of space start-ups gaining increased global attention, space commercialization is springing into a high frequency phrase. In an exclusive interview with Global Times reporter Li Qiaoyi (GT) earlier in December in Zhuhai, Yang Yiqiang (Yang), the first commander-in-chief of the Long March 11 solid-fuel carrier rockets project, described policy priorities and to-do lists toward turning China into a major space power.