China’s space activity is starting to rival the US. (Image Credit: CNSA)
Richard Branson on Virgin Galactic is interesting and all, but China is where we all should be looking.
The ongoing pandemic may have slowed down China’s space program, but it was still active. In 2020, China sent a rover to Mars, brought moon rocks back to Earth, and performed tests on the next-gen crewed vehicle that’s expected to launch taikonauts into orbit and the moon. Other achievements may have gone unnoticed. On November 7th, 2020, China launched Ceres-1, a rocket that can carry a payload of 770 pounds into Earth orbit. This launch sent the Tianqi 11 communications satellite into space.
The Ceres-1 launch is pretty unique. It wasn’t developed and launched by China’s space program. Instead, it was the second commercial rocket built by a Chinese company to launch into space. More impressively, the launch took place just three years after the company was founded. This is an extraordinary achievement for China’s growing private space industry, which is a critical step if China were to take over as the world’s dominant space power.
China also landed its Chang’e-5 mission on the moon to collect lunar samples. Once it touched down, a robotic arm lifted the container and placed it inside the ascender. Afterward, it lifted off and docked with the lunar orbiter. Chang’e-5 returned to Earth in the Siziwang district of the Inner Mongolia region on December 16th, carrying 2 kilograms of lunar samples.
China is planning to build a new space station later this year, which is expected to be fully assembled by the end of 2022. The nation also plans to send its taikonauts to the moon before the decade ends. These big projects are just one aspect of China’s space ambitions. Now, it’s focusing on the commercial space industry. The country’s private space business is more focused on spaceflight cost reduction, increasing its national influence, and making money.
Two big trends have caused the space industry to undergo a renaissance. Satellites can now be developed for less money by making them smaller and using off-the-shelf hardware. Rockets can also be built for less money by using cheaper materials or reusing boosters. This means that it’s less expensive to launch spacecraft into space. Not only that, but the services and data satellites offer are also less expensive.
According to a 2017 report by Bank of America Merrill Lynch, China’s space industry could be worth up to $2.7 trillion by 2030.
The China Aerospace Science & Industry Corporation (CASIC) and the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) were the only two to dominate China’s space activity. Only a few private space companies have operated in the country. For example, the China Great Wall Industry Corporation provided commercial launches since it was formed in 1980.
According to a 2019 report by the Institute for Defense Analyses, there are currently 78 commercial space companies operating in China. Galactic Energy is developing its Ceres rocket to provide a quick launch service for single payloads. Meanwhile, its Pallas rocket is under construction to deploy satellites. i-Space became the first commercial Chinese company to launch into space with its Hyperbola-1 rocket. Now, it’s exploring ways to use reusable first-stage boosters that can land vertically. Additionally, It hopes to use rockets capable of delivering packages from one place to another.
Spacety’s goal is to build and launch small satellites in just six months for its customers. In December, it launched a version of a satellite that utilizes 2D radar images to create 3D maps of terrestrial terrain. Shortly after, it released the images captured by the satellite, Hisea-1. Spacety’s ambition is to launch these satellites at a low cost.
However, these new space companies aren’t profitable yet, and it’s expected to take a while before they are. Most of these companies are still getting an idea of who their customers should be.
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