What are the commercial space companies of China?

Disclaimer: This article was written on the 17th of September 2023 so some information may be outdated.

This article is intended as a general explanation of a handful of Chinese orbital launch companies and their launch vehicles.

LandSpace

LandSpace Technology Corporation, commonly shortened to LandSpace, is a private Chinese launch provider founded in June 2015 and headquartered in Beijing.

LandSpace currently operates the Zhuque-2 liquid-fueled rocket which burns liquid oxygen and liquid methane. Zhuque-2 is capable of launching up to 6,000 kilograms into low Earth orbit or 4,000 kilograms into sun-synchronous orbit. Zhuque-2 has so far flown twice with one success. Its first flight was on the 14th of December 2022, making it the first methane-fueled rocket to reach space. Its second and only successful launch so far was on the 12th of July 2023, making it the first methane-fueled rocket to reach orbit.

Galactic Energy

Galactic Energy is a private Chinese launch provider founded on the 6th of February 2018 and is headquartered in Beijing. The company currently has the long-term objective to mine asteroids for rare metals and minerals.

Galactic Energy currently operates the Ceres-1 solid and liquid-fuelled rocket burning solid propellants and hydrazine. Ceres-1 can launch up to 400 kilograms into low Earth orbit or 300 kilograms into sun-synchronous orbit. Ceres-1 has so far launched eight times, all successfully. Its first flight was on the 7th of November 2020.

CAS Space

CAS Space, also known as Guangzhou Zhongke Aerospace Exploration Technology Co Ltd, is a Chinese commercial launch provider founded in April 2018 and headquartered in Guangzhou in the Guangdong province. CAS Space is partially owned by the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

CAS Space currently operates the Kinetica 1 solid-fueled rocket burning solid propellants. Kinetica 1 can launch up to 2,000 kilograms to low Earth orbit or 1,500 kilograms to sun-synchronous orbit. So far Kinetica 1 has launched twice, both successfully. Kinetica 1 made its first flight on the 27th of July 2022.

i-Space

i-Space, also known as Space Honor, Beijing Interstellar Glory Space Technology Ltd, Interstellar Glory, and StarCraft Glory, is a private Chinese launch provider founded in 2016 and headquartered in Beijing.

i-Space currently operates the Hyperbola-1 solid and liquid-fuelled rocket. Hyperbola-1 can launch up to 300 kilograms into low Earth orbit. So far Hyperbola-1 has launched five times with two successes. Hyperbola-1 launched for the first time on the 25th of July 2019.

Space Pioneer

Space Pioneer, also known as Beijing Tianbing Technology Co Ltd, is a Chinese commercial launch provider founded in 2015 and headquartered in Beijing. The mission of Space Pioneer is to;

"pursue new breakthroughs in technology and performance... ...to select a technological path based on the needs of the commercial market to improve launch efficiency and reduce launch costs."

Space Pioneer currently operates the Tianlong-2 liquid-fuelled rocket burning kerosene and liquid oxygen. Tianlong-2 can launch up to 2,000 kilograms into a low Earth orbit or 1,500 kilograms into a sun-synchronous orbit. So far Tianlong-2 has launched once with its first flight being a success. The first launch of Tianlong-2 made Space Pioneer the first company in the world to reach orbit on its first attempt using a fully liquid-fueled rocket and the first private company in China to reach orbit with a liquid-fuelled rocket.