Chinese Space Programs - Government & Private

[RocketAndRocketEngines]

China Space Station Tiangong

HELSINKI — China and Pakistan have signed an astronaut training agreement that could see the first international astronaut arrive at the Tiangong space station.

The China Manned Space Engineering Office (CMSEO) and the Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO) signed the “Agreement on the Selection and Training of Pakistani Astronauts and Their Participation in China’s Space Station Missions” in Islamabad, Pakistan, Feb. 28, CMSEO announced.

The signing ceremony took place at the Prime Minister’s Office and was witnessed by Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, Lin Xiqiang, deputy director of CMSEO, and Mohammad Yousaf Khan, chairman of SUPARCO.

The agreement marks the first time that China will select and train international astronauts, with a Pakistani astronaut to later fly to the Chinese space station.

According to the plan, the selection process will be completed within approximately one year, after which the Pakistani astronaut will undergo comprehensive and systematic training in China, according to the CMSEO statement.

“Pakistani astronauts will be arranged to enter the Chinese space station with Chinese astronauts to perform short-term flight missions in the next few years,” the CMSEO statement read.

Tiangong is a three-module space station constructed across 2021 and 2022, and was the ultimate goal of a Chinese plan approved in 1992 to develop human spaceflight capabilities.

The space station has so far hosted seven three-person crews of Chinese astronauts during its construction and operational phases. These range from Shenzhou-12, launched in June 2021, to the ongoing Shenzhou-19 mission.

It is unclear how the astronaut will take part in a short-term mission. Shenzhou missions to Tiangong are typically six months long, with three crew members required to operate the station. China has stated plans exist to expand Tiangong to six modules, and send a larger new-generation crew spacecraft to Tiangong on the new Long March 10 launcher.

The development is part of China’s broader space diplomacy efforts, as well as the Belt and Road Initiative, says Bleddyn Bowen, an associate professor in Astropolitics at Durham University in the United Kingdom.

“It certainly fits into China’s wider Belt and Road Initiative which Pakistan is a major part of, and the larger messaging China deploys around its role as a supplier of high technology capabilities for the developing world or “Global South,”” says Bowen.

The agreement will benefit both China and Pakistan, positioning the former as a leader in space, while providing otherwise unobtainable opportunities to the latter.

“Many smaller or poorer states want to participate in space programs and this is a high level, symbolic demonstration that China can be that platform and bigger partner for smaller space powers,” says Bowwen.

“This is a successful outcome for the Pakistani Government as it can show a pathway for Pakistan’s science and technology industries, sectors, and enthusiasts that it can participate in larger space missions despite never being able to muster the same kind of resources as its perennial rival, India” Bowen added.

The development will also be noted by other space-faring nations, including China’s rivals in space.

The U.S., as the lead for the International Space Station (ISS), is aiming to deorbit the orbital outpost in 2030. However, Elon Musk, SpaceX Chief Executive and close advisor to the U.S. President Donald Trump, has recently called for deorbiting the ISS “as soon as possible.”

NASA ISS transition plans include getting commercial space stations by 2030. Executives at companies engaged in commercial space station plans have, however, called for NASA and Congress to take fiscal and policy steps to avoid a space station gap which they fear could cede leadership in low Earth orbit to China. India will likewise take note of the development.

“India and the U.S., like China, have long sought to use their respective space programs to attract partners and participants that also meet foreign policy and diplomatic goals,” said Bowen.

“India particularly has long seen itself as the champion of the developing or Third World in space. I would watch closely to see if India will offer an early slot on their imminent human spaceflight and space station program to another country,” he added.

 

[NerVik]

Monkey see, monkey do.

They see India doing it, and now they want to do the same. Doesn't matter they learn nothing from it.

Same with their "moon mission". All the jhumla about their icube or what ever, and it sent two crappy pictures and since then we haven't heard a peep about the project, nor has anything even remotely space related come up from that sink-istan. Another free ride by the Chinese, this time a much costlier one.

 

[RocketAndRocketEngines]

A Long March 6 carrier rocket carrying the satellite Tianping-3A 02 blasts off from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in North China's Shanxi province, April 3, 2025

TAIYUAN -- China sent a new satellite into space on Thursday from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in North China's Shanxi province.

The satellite, Tianping-3A 02, was launched at 10:12 am (Beijing Time) aboard a Long March 6 rocket and entered its preset orbit.

The satellite will be primarily used for the calibration of ground-based radar equipment and radar cross section (RCS) measurement. It will support imaging experiments for ground-based optical equipment and monitoring tests of the low-orbit space environment, while also providing services for atmospheric space environment measurement and orbital prediction model correction.

The launch marks the 568th flight mission of the Long March rocket series and China’s 19th orbital launch of 2025.

China could be targeting 100 or more launches in 2025, driven by growing commercial activity, megaconstellation projects, and new launcher development. A number of new, medium-lift and potentially reusable rockets are targeting debut flights this year.

Highlight missions will include the Shenzhou-20 and 21 human spaceflight missions to Tiangong Space Station. The Tianwen-2 near-Earth asteroid sample return mission is expected to launch from Xichang on a Long March 3B rocket around May.

 

[RocketAndRocketEngines]

Commercialized Long March 12 rocket could play a role in the construction of China’s LEO megaconstellations

China’s two primary megaconstellations are now under construction, with 2025 set to be a turning point for the projects.

The first launch for the Guowang (“national net”) megaconstellation, aimed at global broadband coverage, took place in December 2024. That meant placing 10 satellites in 1,115 kilometer, 86.5 degree inclination orbits using a Long March 5B. A second launch on Feb 2025 used a smaller Long March 8A rocket to deploy nine satellites into 870 km, 50 degree orbits, suggesting two distinct satellite designs.

The 50 degree inclination satellites appear to target densely populated regions, while the polar satellites provide global coverage. The China Academy of Space Technology confirmed it developed large and small satellite platforms for Guowang, without disclosing functional differences.

Authorities have yet to publish details or images of the Guowang satellites, leading to questions as to whether the satellites could have functions extending beyond commercial use.

Tight deadlines​

To meet International Telecommunication Union deadlines, state-owned China SatNet must deploy 1,300 satellites (10% of Guowang) by September 2029 — requiring an aggressive pace of 24 satellites per month, or 284 satellites per year. By 2032, it must scale up to 6,500 satellites (50% of the network), averaging 144 launches per month, or 1,733 satellites per year.

Guowang is not limited to using Long March rockets. The commercial launch firm Landspace says it plans to launch a batch of Guowang satellites on one of three launches of its new Zhuque-3 it hopes to launch, starting in the second half of 2025.

Meanwhile, the Shanghai-backed Qianfan (Thousand Sails) megaconstellation saw the launch of its fifth batch of 18 satellites March 11, using a Long March 8 rocket from the new Hainan commercial spaceport. The project now has 90 satellites in orbit and aims for around 600 to be in orbit by the end of the year, while the full system will consist of 14,000 satellites. Operator Spacesail is actively attempting to secure customers around the world.

 

[RocketAndRocketEngines]

Launch Startup Deep Blue Aerospace Nebula-1 Rocket Second Stage Vacuum Engine “Thunder RV” Integrated Test



On February 22, 2025, Deep Blue Aerospace successfully conducted the second 340-second full-system test of its self-developed "Thunder RV" liquid oxygen kerosene vacuum engine, designed for the second stage of the Nebula-1 rocket, at the liquid rocket engine testing facility in Jinan, Shandong.

During the 340‑second test run, the maximum temperature at the thrust chamber’s outlet reached 1100 K. Over 285 seconds of dynamic vector precision control, 135 oscillations were executed with rapid and stable responses, and the oscillation servo actuation delay did not exceed 0.03 seconds.

This test validated the rationality and reliability of the engine design.

 

[Nutcracker]

You seem to skywatcher alt.
Why are you creating multiple threads ? Find or make 1 relevant thread and post there.

 

[Nutcracker]

@SKC @Blademaster

Please merge it in some Chinese space exploration thread

https://defenceforumbharat.com/threads/pakistani-astronauts-to-enter-chinese-space-station.822/

https://defenceforumbharat.com/threads/china-launches-tianping-3a-02-with-long-march-6.826/

R

Thread 'Chinese Space Programs - Government & Private'

Wednesday at 7:11 AM

China Space Station Tiangong

HELSINKI — China and Pakistan have signed an astronaut training agreement that could see the first international astronaut arrive at the Tiangong space station.

The China Manned Space Engineering Office (CMSEO) and the Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO) signed the “Agreement on the Selection and Training of Pakistani Astronauts and Their Participation in China’s Space Station Missions” in Islamabad, Pakistan, Feb. 28, CMSEO announced.

The signing ceremony took place at the Prime Minister’s Office and was witnessed...

• RocketAndRocketEngines
• Replies: 16
• Forum: China

https://defenceforumbharat.com/threads/china’s-megaconstellations-take-off.827/

 

[RocketAndRocketEngines]

First photo of the Zhuque-3 launch vehicle's engine compartment was released on 1 Apr 2025.

 

[RocketAndRocketEngines]

You seem to skywatcher alt.
Why are you creating multiple threads ? Find or make 1 relevant thread and post there.

First, this was no such thread I can put my high quality content into and I don't know how to make sticky thread or merge threads here. Second, I don't know who skywatcher is.

 

[Azaad]

First, this was no such thread I can put my high quality content into and I don't know how to make sticky thread or merge threads here. Second, I don't know who skywatcher is.

View attachment 29424

Since you announced your entry into this forum a good 8 months after it was launched with a stink it's safe to conclude you didn't utilize all that time you had productively , by seeking treatment for your condition, did you Skywalker?

How long do you propose to spam this forum? And do you or your employer the MSS plan on contributing to host this forum for all the spamming you're subjecting it to?

 

[RocketAndRocketEngines]

Unknown Chinese methalox engine hot fire test 21 Mar 2025

 

[RocketAndRocketEngines]

China's super heavy rocket Long March 10 launch complex construction update as of Mar 2025

 

[RocketAndRocketEngines]

Launch start up Galactic Energy Pallas 1 rocket scheduled for debut orbital launch in Aug 2025

Pallas 1 is a kerolox fueled rocket with a payload capacity of 8 tonnes to LEO.

 

[RocketAndRocketEngines]

Shenzhou-19 astronauts complete third spacewalk, install final debris shielding on Tiangong



HELSINKI — A pair of Chinese astronauts embarked on an extravehicular activity outside the Tiangong space station Friday, as the crew approaches the end of their six-month-long stay in orbit.

Astronauts Cai Xuzhe and Song Lingdong returned to the Wentian science module at 8:50 a.m. Eastern (1250 UTC) March 21, completing their seven-hour extravehicular activity (EVA). Cai initially opened the Wentian hatch at 1:45 a.m. (0545 UT), according to China’s human spaceflight agency, CMSA.

Cai and Song installed space debris protective shielding to the outside of the Wentian module, completing the deployment of shielding carried out across a series of missions and EVAs. The pair also installed extravehicular auxiliary facilities and conducted inspection of extravehicular equipment and systems. The latter task included Cai riding Tiangong’s robotic arm to the specific points on the space station’s exterior, conducting photographic inspections.

Wang Haoze, China’s first woman space engineer and the third member of the crew, assisted operations from inside the Tiangong space station, as she had done for the mission’s previous two EVAs. The first EVA, in December 2024, set an apparent world record for spacewalk duration at 9 hours 6 minutes. Cai Xuzhe has now completed five EVAs, more than any other Chinese astronaut.

“The astronauts performed exceptionally well during the extravehicular mission. First, all of our operations were successful on the first attempt, and the alignment and installation of devices were very precise. In fact, the astronauts completed the tasks even faster than we had anticipated,” Wang Yanlei, a staff member with the Beijing-based China Astronaut Research and Training Center, told China Central Television (CCTV) following the EVA.

“The coordination between the astronauts, as well as between the space station and the ground team, was seamless,” Wang said.

The trio now have just over a month remaining aboard Tiangong, according to CMSA, having arrived at Tiangong Oct. 29 last year. Over the past five months, the crew has conducted a variety of space science experiments and technology demonstrations, including fruit fly cultivation, experiments on protein crystallization, and studies on five types of cells.

Mission activities included materials science, carrying out a number of metal and non-metal experiments in Tiangong’s containerless experiment and high temperature scientific experiment cabinets.

“By leveraging the different experimental conditions of China’s space station and the International Space Station, we conduct scientific research in related fields in a complementary manner, enabling deeper and more extensive space exploration,” Wang Yifeng, an engineer at the Technology and Engineering Centre for Space Utilization, Chinese Academy of Sciences, told CCTV.

The Shenzhou-19 mission has also established a new health assessment system for astronauts in a microgravity environment. The system tracks key physiological and psychological indicators, including cardiac health, bone density, muscle mass and emotional well-being. The system also integrates traditional Chinese and Western medicine.

The crew have also been assisted by Xiao Hang (“Little Space”), a small AI robot equipped with human-robot interaction software to support mission operations.

Crews and backups for the following Shenzhou-20 and -21 missions—which will be China’s 15th and 16th crewed spaceflight missions overall—have been selected, according to Chinese space officials. Neither the identities of the crews nor the timing of the missions have been announced. Each mission will last around six months. During crew handovers, Tiangong briefly hosts six astronauts for several days.

The Long March 2F rocket to launch the Shenzhou-21 mission in the second half of 2025 set off via train for Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre, northwest China, March 18, after assembly and testing by the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT) in Beijing. The rocket will be kept in a near-ready state to enable a rapid-response rescue launch if needed. The Long March 2F (Y20) and Shenzhou-20 spacecraft have been on standby for an emergency launch since the launch of Shenzhou-19, as a matter of standard practice.

 

[RocketAndRocketEngines]

HELSINKI — China is inviting interested parties to submit proposals to join the country’s pioneering Mars sample return mission, due to launch in late 2028.

The China National Space Administration (CNSA) published an announcement of opportunities March 11, officially opening the Tianwen-3 Mars mission to international cooperation.

Tianwen-3 aims to collect samples from Mars and, for the first time ever, deliver them to Earth. The primary scientific goal is the detection of potential biosignatures and answering a fundamental question: has life ever existed on Mars?

“This opportunity is open to the global community. International partners are welcome to collaborate with the TW-3 Mission at the system or payload level,” the CNSA statement reads. The call offers new insights into the mission in terms of mission scheduling and domestic payloads.

Teams can propose piggyback payloads requiring support from the Tianwen-3 spacecraft or independent scientific instruments. CNSA has made up to 15 kilograms of mass available for international collaboration projects on the mission’s Earth return orbiter (ERO) spacecraft and a further 5 kg on the Mars orbiter (MO).

Proposals must align with the mission’s overarching scientific objectives or provide complementary or extended value, with strong innovation in science and engineering.

Expressions of interest are to be submitted to CNSA by June 30, 2025. Shortlisted teams will then be invited to submit full proposals, with final selection scheduled for October. Flight models of selected payloads will need to be delivered in 2027.

The call for collaboration comes as NASA’s own Mars Sample Return program faces delays, cost overruns, and budget uncertainties, raising questions about the future of international Mars sample return efforts, as well as the possibility for wider cuts to the agency’s science and other programs.

Tianwen-3 overview

The Tianwen-3 mission will consist of two separate launches from Earth. Two Long March 5 rocket launches will carry a lander and ascent vehicle and the Mars orbiter and Earth return orbiter respectively.

Launches are scheduled for a once-every-26-months optimal Mars launch window which is due to open for a few weeks spanning late 2028 to early 2029. Samples would be delivered to Earth around 2030 or 2031.

Mars Entry, descent and landing will build on technology used for the Tianwen-1 rover landing. China has already conducted two lunar sample return missions, Chang’e-5 and Chang’e-6, and will launch the Tianwen-2 near-Earth asteroid sample return mission around May this year.

The lander spacecraft aims to collect and launch samples with the help of an ascent vehicle. The Mars orbiter will support communication and science, with the Earth return orbiter tasked with rendezvousing with the ascender in Mars orbit and returning samples to Earth.

Mission objectives are investigating potential traces of life on Mars, studying Martian geology, the planet’s internal structure, and the atmospheric circulation and escape processes, and contributing to understanding planetary habitability.

The spacecraft will carry science payloads to aid these goals, revealed by the CNSA announcement of opportunities.

The lander will carry a Mars Subsurface Penetrating Radar (MSPR) to probe subsurface layers of the Red Planet, and a Raman and Fluorescence Analyzer for Mars (RaFAM) to detect organic materials and minerals, key to astrobiology, similar in function to NASA Perseverance rover’s SHERLOC payload.

The Mars orbiter will carry the Precipitating Energetic Neutral Atom and Aurora Detector (PENAAA) payload to study atmospheric escape processes, and the Mars Orbiter Vector Magnetometer (MOVMag) designed to measure Mars’ magnetic environment.

The ERO will carry the Mid-Infrared Hyperspectral Imager (MIHI) to map Mars’ surface composition, and the Mars Martian Multispectral Camera (MMC) for capturing high-resolution imagery.

The mission may also include a helicopter and a six-legged crawling robot for collecting samples away from the landing site, according to earlier reports, though CNSA has not confirmed these technologies as part of the final mission architecture.

Landing site selection, search for biosignatures

Researchers have identified three preselected landing zones for Tianwen-3. These are Amazonis Planitia, Utopia Planitia—the area within which the Zhurong Tianwen-1 rover landed—and Chryse Planitia.

The mission science group has proposed 86 potential landing sites, according to a 2024 National Science Review paper, focusing on areas that maximize the likelihood of preserving biosignatures, such as locations with ancient deltas, lakes, and water-related landforms, while meeting engineering constraints.

Landing site constraints include an altitude of at least 3 kilometers below the global average to ensure greater atmospheric density for deceleration. Suitable latitudes range from 17° to 30°N, balancing scientific interest with engineering safety factors such as solar illumination, and surface and atmospheric conditions.

Sampling is likely to consist of both surface sampling and drilling. The former will focus on fine-grained sedimentary rocks and clay minerals, which are more likely to contain preserved organics, while the latter approach is designed to reach deeper layers, avoiding the oxidizing effects of Mars’ surface environment.

The mission is highly focused on astrobiology and will also include contamination control and planetary protection measures.

Tianwen-3 could mark a significant breakthrough both scientifically and for China’s space leadership. If successful, Tianwen-3 would establish China as a leader in planetary exploration. The returned samples could be the key to answering one of the most profound scientific questions—whether life ever existed on Mars.

 

[RocketAndRocketEngines]

Mar 19, 2025



A space company is setting its sights on crewed orbital spaceflight, marking a new step in the expansion of commercial space sector.

Zhang Xiaomin, chairman of Beijing Ziwei Yutong Technology Co., Ltd., also known as AZSpace, told the Chinese outlet Securities Daily last week that, “we plan to officially conduct orbital manned flight tests in 2027 or 2028.”

So far, China’s human spaceflight missions have been carried out solely by China’s human spaceflight agency, CMSA, using Long March 2F rockets and Shenzhou spacecraft, but this may now change in the coming years.

Founded in 2019, AZSpace focuses on spacecraft manufacturing and space tourism, with backing from venture capital firms. Its newly announced crewed orbital plans mark a significant expansion of its ambitions. However, key details—such as funding sources and potential state support—remain unclear.

This follows China’s government designating commercial space a key emerging industry to be supported and promoted. Local and provincial governments are also seeking to attract commercial space companies and foster space ecosystems.

It was not made clear where funding for AZSpace’s plans comes from, or if the statement will lead to investor interest. It is also unknown if, or to what extent, the company will have access to state-owned technology for its reusable and crewed spacecraft plans.

More concretely, Zhang laid out company plans for 2025. It will conduct a launch of the self-developed B300 spacecraft, and later launch the more advanced DEAR-5 spacecraft.

The company plans to carry out these two flights in July and September this year respectively, with Zhang adding that the spacecraft will conduct on-orbit docking verification and reentry tests.

This follows the launch of DEAR-1 in December 2023 aboard an iSpace Hyperbola-1 solid propellant rocket. That spacecraft remains in orbit, and it is unclear if it is, or was, intended to deliberately reenter as part of its mission. The DEAR-3 microgravity research platform, which is based on the B300 and has a payload capacity of up to 300 kilograms, was lost on the failed Kinetica-1 rocket launch in December last year.

DEAR-5 will have improved payload capacity and service capabilities over DEAR-3. It is equipped with a self-developed intelligent payload management system, to meet more complex user needs.

AZSpace is also developing the C2000 spacecraft which will have a payload capacity of 2,000 kg as a stepping stone to crewed spacecraft. The timeline for the latter appears highly ambitious and no launch partner was mentioned.

It is not the only Chinese commercial company targeting space tourism. Launch companies CAS Space and Deep Blue Aerospace are developing suborbital spacecraft to provide services similar to those of Blue Origin and its New Shepard system. Another, younger spacecraft manufacturer, Interstellor, is also working on a spacecraft for suborbital tourism.

China is currently considering expanding the Tiangong space station and opening it to tourist visits, though no details of how the latter would work have been provided.

China began opening its space sector to commercial activities and private capital in late 2014. Initial efforts were largely restricted to small launch vehicles and small satellites, before expanding to ever-larger, liquid propellant launchers with potential reusability, a range of space systems and applications, remote sensing and communications constellations and, recently low-cost, reusable cargo spacecraft to serve the Tiangong space station. Two low Earth orbit megaconstellations are seen as a source of contracts with which commercial launch companies may establish themselves.

With AZSpace now pushing for crewed orbital spaceflight, China’s commercial sector may be entering a new era in which private firms undertake human spaceflight alongside China’s state-run human spaceflight agency.

 

[RocketAndRocketEngines]

A mock up of Haolong cargo space craft

HELSINKI — China will launch a pair of low-cost space station resupply spacecraft this year on new commercial launch vehicles, highlighting advances for the country’s space ecosystem.

The missions aim to provide flexible options and redundancy for supplying the Tiangong space station, while also illustrating the expansion and progress made by Chinese commercial space actors and other non-traditional space entities.

The Haolong cargo space shuttle from the Chengdu Aircraft Design Institute under the Aviation Industry Corporation (AVIC) will launch on Landspace’s Zhuque-3, a Feb. 2 article from state media China National Radio confirms. The reusable stainless steel, methane-liquid oxygen Zhuque-3 rocket is due to have its first flight in the third quarter of this year.

The reusable Haolong will be 10 meters in length, around 7,000 kilograms in mass and capable of landing on a runway. Its downmass capabilities will be a boost for science conducted on Tiangong, allowing the return of hardware and experiments. China currently only has very limited downmass capacity via the Shenzhou crew spacecraft.

Meanwhile the Qingzhou cargo spacecraft from the Innovation Academy for Microsatellites of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (IAMCAS) will launch on the first flight of the CAS Space Kinetica-2 (Lijian-2) rocket no earlier than September.

Qingzhou-1 is a single-module cargo spacecraft with 27 cubic meters of space, capable of carrying 1,800 to 2,000 kilograms of cargo.

It should however be noted that both AVIC and IAMCAS are state-owned entities. It is, however, a departure from the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) producing all spacecraft and modules for Tiangong. The spacecraft’s integration with commercial launch providers LandSpace and CAS Space (though the latter is itself a spinoff from the state-owned Chinese Academy of Sciences) marks a shift toward commercial space participation.

The development is analogous to NASA’s Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) program, diversifying China’s options for supplying Tiangong. Currently, its only method for delivering supplies and propellant to Tiangong is via Tianzhou cargo spacecraft which are destroyed upon reentry. Tianzhou spacecraft launch on the expendable Long March 7 rocket.

China plans to launch the Shenzhou-20 and 21 crewed missions to Tiangong this year, along with a single cargo mission, Tianzhou-9.

The introduction of the new, smaller cargo spacecraft using potentially reusable rockets indicates a step forward in China’s reusability capabilities and cost efficiency, as well as signalling broader involvement in the space industry for commercial actors.

The article states that Landspace, ambitiously, aims to launch three Zhuque-3 rockets this year, including launch of Haolong and, notably, a mission for the Guowang megaconstellation, confirming the participation of commercial launch companies in the project. Guowang, together with the Thousand Sailsconstellation, are China’s response to Starlink and other projects. Commercial participation and cost-effective, reusable launch options are expected to be necessary for the timely deployment of both constellations.

The Zhuque-3 has a 4.5-meter-diameter first stage and is designed for reuse for at least 20 flights. It can launch 21,000 kg to low Earth orbit (LEO) in expendable mode, or 18,300 kg when recovered.

Landspace also aims to recover one of the first stages using powered descent and landing legs. The company also plans six launches of the smaller, expendable Zhuque-2.

The cargo missions are the result of a China Manned Space Engineering Office (CMSEO) call for proposals issued in 2023 for low-cost cargo transportation systems to serve the Tiangong space station. Four proposals from 10 submissions were chosen to enter a detailed design phase in September 2023, and a pair of winning proposals were selected in October 2024.

The cargo project, along with the introduction of an array of new launch vehicles in 2025, could mean a landmark year for China’s space industry and its commercial participants, and for its push for reusable space technology and commercial space integration.