Chinese private rockets are launching into space one after another | Rocket | China

In April of this year, SpaceX's ultra heavy carrier rocket "Starship" underwent its first test flight, but the rocket disintegrated after flying for 4 minutes. In mid June, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk announced plans to conduct the second test flight of the starship within 6 to 8 weeks. Although the starship launch was not successful, it brought commercial space into the public's view, and many people are discussing who will become China's SpaceX? In the commercial aerospace field, rocket launch, as an important link, has been entrusted with more expectations. In 2014, the State Council issued guidance to encourage private capital to participate in the construction of national civil space infrastructure. Private enterprises officially entered the research and launch of rockets, and in the past decade, they have seen a sudden rise.

For many private rocket enterprises, the Yangtze River Delta region has become the first choice for landing their production bases with policy advantages and a sound industrial chain. Tianbing Technology's intelligent production base for liquid launch vehicles and engines has settled in Zhangjiagang City, Jiangsu Province, and is expected to be completed in the second half of this year. Xinghe Power Aerospace has established a company in Chizhou, Anhui Province, with a focus on investing in the construction of the Zhishenxing 1 reusable liquid launch vehicle and engine industrialization base project, including the Niutoushan Power Test Center and the industrial production base of liquid rockets and engines. The base in Taicang City, Jiangsu Province is also under construction. Blue Arrow Aerospace has established an intelligent manufacturing base in Huzhou, Zhejiang, and a rocket manufacturing base in Jiaxing. The second phase of the factory has just been delivered.

A herd of heroes vying for deer

At the Zhongguancun Forum Exhibition and Science Expo at the end of May, private rocket enterprise Tianbing Technology's Tianlong series liquid carrier rocket models and Tianhuo series engine models stood on the exhibition stand, attracting many visitors. Tianbing Technology has received much attention this year. In early April, the Tianlong 2 carrier rocket successfully made its maiden flight, becoming the first liquid carrier rocket successfully launched into orbit in China's commercial aerospace industry. This is a three-stage liquid rocket that uses liquid oxygen and coal based aerospace kerosene propellants. The rocket has a diameter of 3.35 meters, a length of 32.8 meters, a takeoff mass of 153 tons, a takeoff thrust of 193 tons, a solar synchronous orbit carrying capacity of 1.5 tons at an altitude of 500 kilometers, a near Earth orbit carrying capacity of 2 tons, and an improved capacity of up to 4 tons. Before the successful launch of Tianlong 2, although there were also precedents of successful private launch vehicles in China, solid fuels were used as boosters. In contrast, liquid fuels have the advantage of lower costs. One of the veterans of domestic private rocket enterprises, Blue Arrow Aerospace, had the opportunity to compete for this "first place". At a time when most liquid commercial launch vehicles worldwide use liquid oxygen kerosene as a booster, Blue Arrow has been committed to developing liquid oxygen methane engines. Compared to kerosene, methane has the advantages of cleanliness, better performance, and lower price. SpaceX's starship also uses this type of liquid engine. However, technological breakthroughs in liquid oxygen methane engines have always been a global challenge. Last December, Blue Arrow's Zhuque 2 carrier rocket failed its maiden flight, otherwise it would have become the world's first liquid oxygen methane rocket to enter orbit. The Blue Arrow's Zhuque 2 rocket arrived at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on May 12th this year and is about to be launched in July. The Zhuque 2 rocket started final assembly in June, and the feasibility of liquid oxygen methane engines was verified with the first batch of three rockets. It remains to be seen whether commercial aerospace can take another step forward.

The Zhishenxing 1 of Xinghe Power Aerospace has been fully assembled and produced at the Chizhou Base

There is also a debate within the industry about whether solid or liquid fuels should be used for rocket boosters, and whether kerosene or methane should be used for liquid fuels. As the founder and CEO of Xinghe Power Aerospace, Liu Baiqi has put forward a different viewpoint. He believes that if we set aside market demand and simply discuss which technology route is better, it is difficult to come up with the correct answer. Liquid fuel is suitable for making large rockets, while solid fuel is suitable for making light and small rockets, which is a common consensus in the industry. Liu Baiqi made an analogy that nowadays, medium to large liquid rockets in China are more like buses, with lower unit prices but more passengers, so either charter or carpool; Solid rockets are generally lighter and smaller, like taxis. Although they have a higher unit price, they can be customized. "To create a large constellation, it is necessary to use a bus because of its large quantity and weight. However, there are also many companies in the market that produce small constellations weighing 20-40 kilograms, such as remote sensing satellites and meteorological satellites. If they all use large rockets, they cannot package a rocket and can only combine them. However, combining orders is also limited by the inclination angle, angle, altitude, and window period of each satellite's orbit. It is like a bus transporting more than ten people home, who will be sent first and who will be sent later, and whether the last person will arrive home very late, which is not cost-effective. Combining numerous satellite orders together is a very complex coordination work," said Liu Baiqi. Therefore, whether to produce lightweight solid rockets or not, in his view, is a difference in the development ideas and product positioning of each enterprise. After analyzing the market, Xinghe Power Aerospace believes that lightweight solid rockets can still meet the requirements of segmented markets, so commercial mass production has been carried out. As a small solid commercial launch vehicle, the Ceres 1 developed by Xinghe Power Aerospace has been launched 5 times since 2020, all of which have been successful. In January of this year, five satellites, including the Science and Technology 1 satellite, the Tianqi constellation with 13 stars, the Tianmu 1 meteorological constellation with 01/02 stars, and the Nantong Middle School satellite, were successfully launched into the designated orbit. Moreover, this is not the first time it has achieved "one arrow, five stars". Liu Baiqi admitted that currently, Xinghe Power Aerospace has achieved commercial operation of solid rockets, which can provide standardized commercial launches for the market. Liquid rockets are still in competition in the development process, and most enterprises are still unable to achieve their own positive revenue. Of course, the development of liquid rockets is also being carried out simultaneously. In May of this year, the "Zhishenxing-1" liquid carrier rocket developed by Xinghe Power Aerospace has been fully assembled and will make its first flight next year. After the successful maiden flight of Tianlong 2, Tianbing Technology is currently developing the next type of spectrum rocket - Tianlong 3. Liu Xinglong, General Manager of Tianbing Technology Rocket R&D Center and Chief Designer of Tianlong-3, introduced that Tianlong-3 is a large liquid carrier rocket that will benchmark against SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. It has a diameter of 3.8 meters, a takeoff weight of 590 tons, and a sun synchronous orbit capacity of over 15 tons. "We expect to conduct a test flight of this rocket in May next year and will use it to carry out a large number of commercial satellite network launches in the future."

Tianlong 2 launch site

Reduce costs and increase efficiency

To make money, reducing costs and increasing efficiency is a necessary path. Liu Baiqi told reporters that for rocket companies, there are generally three paths to reduce costs, namely technological innovation, large-scale production, and rocket reuse. "Developing launch vehicles is a systems engineering project, and technological innovation mainly involves reducing the cost of the rocket itself through the application of new technologies, materials, and processes. Costs are all designed," explained Liu Baiqi. Taking the four stage orbital control engine of the "Ceres One" as an example, the traditional use of niobium tungsten alloy material, spinning forming process, and radiation cooling design results in long production cycles, high manufacturing costs, and relatively heavy products. The "Ceres One" uses all titanium alloy materials, 3D printing technology, and regenerative cooling design, reducing costs by 80%, reducing weight by 50%, and shortening production cycles by 70%. Through technological innovation, significant cost reduction and efficiency improvement have been achieved. Liu Xinglong also recognizes the role of 3D printing technology in commercial rocket production. Some components of the engine used in Tianlong 2 used to require stainless steel production, machining, welding, and detection of welding defects. Now, based on the 3D model provided by the designer, the 3D printing company can directly print it in less than 6 hours, and then polish it to complete it. These are all achievements brought about by technological innovation.

Tianlong 2 launch

Rocket recycling and reuse is the industry's next goal. SpaceX's Falcon 9 reusable rocket has undergone over a hundred recoveries and failed more than a dozen times. There are generally three methods for rocket recovery, namely parachute recovery, glide flight horizontal landing, and vertical recovery. But to achieve vertical recovery, precise guidance control systems, engine depth thrust technology, and landing buffer devices are required. "At present, there is no insurmountable principle in these technologies. I think it is a matter of time. There should be a process of engineering practice, and there are no insurmountable technical obstacles." Liu Baiqi said. According to the plan of Xinghe Power Aerospace, it is expected to be achieved between 2025 and 2026. When rockets can be recycled, reused more frequently, and have a longer flight life, it will inevitably lead to a significant decrease in rocket launch costs. The Tianlong III rocket of Tianbing Technology has also made sufficient preparations in advance for recovery. "Although the first rocket of next year will not be recycled, we have completely followed the recycling standards in our design. For example, the unlocking device can be reused," said Liu Xinglong. Once technological innovation and repeated use of rockets are achieved, the final step in cost reduction and efficiency improvement is large-scale production.

Future prospects

Even if rocket companies are well prepared for mass production, receiving enough orders and delivering them remains a challenge. "The business model of rocket enterprise business is essentially that we independently develop commercial launch vehicles, and then use rockets as a means of transportation to send customers' satellites, spacecraft and other spacecraft into the predetermined orbit, into space, and we charge launch service fees. Therefore, rocket enterprises are essentially space transportation enterprises, providing transportation services. The most important market in the near future is the launch of low orbit satellite Internet," Liu Baiqi said. In 2020, the National Development and Reform Commission listed satellite Internet as an information infrastructure in the category of "new infrastructure" for the first time. In the next 5 to 10 years, there may be a demand for launching tens of thousands of satellites in China. In addition to the orders from the national satellite Internet, many commercial satellite launch companies are also the main customers of rocket enterprises. Satellites are involved in meteorology, remote sensing, navigation and other fields. "Maybe some satellite companies will not go down due to financial and technical factors, but new constellations will continue to emerge, so the market is actually broader than we think." Liu Baiqi is very confident about this.

The Ceres 1 spacecraft of Xinghe Power Aerospace

Tianbing Technology and Blue Arrow Aerospace have also revealed that they have accepted a portion of the orders and will officially enter the performance stage after multiple rocket launches have verified their reliability. Blue Arrow Aerospace predicts that once the Zhuque 2 rocket successfully tests flight this year, it will make small batch deliveries to the market next year, achieving 3-4 launches and doubling its launch volume for three consecutive years. For the solid rocket "Zhishenxing-1" of Xinghe Power Space, there are planned 8-10 launches this year, and in the future, it can achieve over 40 high-density launches per year.

Of course, these are all later words. Before fulfilling the order, the success rate of the rocket's test flight becomes particularly important. The failure of the test flight will indeed have a significant impact on private enterprises, on the one hand, it is the confidence of investors, and on the other hand, the confidence of internal personnel, both of which need to be rebuilt to a sufficient extent. There have also been precedents of companies falling silent for a while after a failed launch. "The development and production system behind aerospace products is vast and precise. In just a few minutes during launch, the team's years of hard work and hard work in overcoming difficulties are condensed. A tiny mistake can lead to a thousand miles, and a ten thousand minus one equals zero. Therefore, the higher the reliability index, the better," said Liu Xinglong. Next year, Tianlong III will be launched, and he bluntly stated that "there is a lot of pressure.". "Doing this job seems to require a strong psychological resilience," the reporter couldn't help but sigh. Liu Xinglong shook his head and said, "Doing this job doesn't rely on psychological qualities anymore.". "What's the reason for that?" "Based on strength." He smiled, his tone affirming. The development of commercial aerospace in China is still in its early stages. "In the field of commercial aerospace, our development time is still very short, and the entire ecosystem and industry are still in a process of exploration." Liu Baiqi said, "Aerospace itself is a high-risk industry, and the future will definitely encounter many difficulties and twists and turns. It will not be smooth sailing, but given some time and more tolerance, I believe that China's commercial aerospace industry will definitely develop."

Blue Arrow Aerospace CEO Zhang Changwu: 2025 may become a commercial aerospace node in China

The Zhuque 2 rocket developed by domestic private rocket enterprise Blue Arrow Aerospace has arrived at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center and is expected to test fly in July.

Last December, the Zhuque 2 carrier rocket was launched, but the second stage main engine shut down and the swimming machine shut down abnormally, resulting in the failure of the launch mission. In the current battle, once successfully launched, it will become the world's first liquid oxygen methane rocket to be successfully launched into orbit. Since its establishment in 2015, Blue Arrow Aerospace has gone through 8 years. In the past few years, Blue Arrow Aerospace has been committed to developing its own power system - the Tianque series liquid oxygen methane engine, and has completed nearly 100000 seconds of ground testing. The Zhuque 2 rocket, based on engine production, is also one of the world's first liquid launch vehicles with orbital capabilities. At the same time, around the entire product line, Blue Arrow Aerospace has built intelligent manufacturing bases and rocket manufacturing bases in Huzhou and Jiaxing, Zhejiang, respectively. The second phase factories of both bases have also been delivered. "Blue Arrow Aerospace has independently developed over 60% of the systems for the Zhuque 2 rocket. Apart from us, the entire industry is still in the stage of entrusting the Aerospace Institute to develop and integrate. However, our engines, rocket bodies, and key single machines are all self-made, which is a positive development process and requires a process of releasing technical risks. Therefore, it will naturally require a longer cycle to verify the product solution." Blue Arrow Aerospace CEO Zhang Changwu said, "Only by holding the key technology in his own hands can we control costs and carry out subsequent technological iterations." In interviews, Zhang Changwu repeatedly mentioned that the development of domestic commercial aerospace enterprises needs to go "from 0 to 1.". In his view, the so-called "from 0 to 1" means that the product plan needs to be fully validated, have the ability to establish a complete supporting plan, and achieve positive returns in business. For Zhang Changwu, Blue Arrow Aerospace is walking this path, and completing the journey from 0 to 1 is the fate of the enterprise itself. Only success can prove that the enterprise is worthy of being chosen and supported by investors and customers. At present, for domestic commercial aerospace enterprises, they have already passed the stage of "storytelling" and cannot rely solely on releasing "milestones" to support them. To give investors confidence, it is necessary to see to what extent the enterprise can actually achieve. "We will also invite everyone to visit factories in Huzhou and Jiaxing for on-site inspections. Only by being on site can we feel the actual state of the enterprise's development and what the process is like." Zhang Changwu said. Blue Arrow Aerospace hopes to achieve successful product experiments through the first batch of Zhuque 2 three engine rockets. Once the rocket launch is successful within this year, Blue Arrow Aerospace is expected to deliver 3-4 rockets in small quantities to the market next year, and achieve a doubling of delivery volume for three consecutive years. Blue Arrow Aerospace has received many launch service orders from domestic and international markets, and can enter the performance stage after multiple rounds of reliability verification. Looking ahead to the future development prospects of China's commercial aerospace, Zhang Changwu also gave his own judgment that 2025 may become a milestone. "The process of commercial aerospace 'from 0 to 1' is bound to be accompanied by different perceptions, views and routes, and the process will also have successes and failures, even foam. But my personal judgment is that there will be a systematic survival of the fittest in 2025, and resources may be further concentrated, but it will also lead to many truly innovative enterprises, realize innovation in process, design methods and even product configurations, and achieve industry iteration." Zhang Changwu said, "If Blue Arrow can complete the verification of the early scheme of the rocket as soon as possible,