China's Space Industry Expands with Space Pioneer's Funding and New Liquid-Propellant Rocket
The company has raised nearly 3 billion yuan ($438 million) in funding since its founding in 2018. Space Pioneer's Tianlong-2 rocket is nearing its first launch & is set to lift off before the end of March.
The Tianlong 2 uses a kerosene & liquid oxygen propellant mix & is capable of carrying 2,000 kilograms to low Earth orbit.
The engines powering the Tianlong-2 are Y-FRONTS-102 open-cycle kerolox engines developed by China’s state-owned main space contractor, CASC.
Tinalong 2 is designed to lift 3,300lbs (1,500kgs) into a 310-mile-high (500kms) sun-synchronous orbit.
Space Pioneer is also developing a larger Tinalong 3 rocket for launching satellites for China’s plans for a communications mega constellation, which will be in two-stage & is targeting launching batches of up to 60 satellites per launch.
The company is targeting a first launch in early 2024, ramping up to a planned cadence of more than 12 launches per year. From 2025.
A handful of companies, namely iSpace, Galactic Energy, Expace, & CAS Space, have so far reached orbit with solid rockets. Commercial launch companies began emerging in China in 2014 after a central government decision to open parts of the space sector to private capital.
MORE STORIES