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VOL.64 NO.19 MAY 13, 2021 WWW.BJREVIEW.COM

SPACE TREK

RMB6.00 China on track with its USD1.70 AUD3.00 GBP1.20 extraterrestrial mission CAD2.60 CHF2.60

)/$ЮፑʶѮՁὙڍJPY188 ᥪԦ̼Ձe COVER STORY 6+$5,1*7+(3,( ,17+(6.< Space industry players urge cooperation for global and generational benefits By Li Qing

ince Soviet Union astronaut was postponed to “early 2022” and space such as Elon Musk’s SpaceX, established as Yuri Gagarin became the since then, there has been no up- early as in 2002 with the goal of establishing colo- 6first person to fly in space date. nies on Mars, China’s commercial space industry is in 1961, the exploration of the uni- “The service will be ini- still in the primary stage, Zhao Qiming, a researcher verse has changed stupendously. In tially accessible to those with with the Third Institute of China Aerospace Science 2001, Dennis Tito, a U.S. billion- immense wealth,” Wu said. and Industry Corp. (CASIC), said. aire, reportedly paid $20 million for “But in the future, space tourism A white paper on China’s space activities released an eight-day trip in space, becom- should be affordable for the rich, in 2017 stressed the importance of non-governmental LQJWKHZRUOG·VÀUVWVSDFHWRXULVW if not the middle-income group.” capital in space-related activities, including research Although the price of a seven- He hoped that with the development and production, space infrastructure, information to-nine-day space trip has since of the industry and technology, products and services, and satellite application, to en- jumped to $57 million, the global Chinese companies will also cap- hance the commercialization of the space industry. space travel market still has a ture a slice of the international During the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) pe- huge demand, Wu Ji, a researcher space tourism market. “Commercial riod, more space infrastructure will be built, and the with the National Space Science programs can help lower costs and capability of commercial space systems enhanced, Center of the Chinese Academy LPSURYHWKHHIÀFLHQF\RIVSDFHDF- integrating them into major national development of Sciences, said at a workshop WLYLWLHVZKLFKZLOODOVREHQHÀWWKH strategies, Fu Zhimin, chief engineer of CASIC, said on China-U.S. commercial space traditional players in this area,” he at a forum on April 26. dialogue during the China Space said. Development of the commercial space sector Conference held in east China’s will also boost strategic emerging sectors such as the city Nanjing on April 25. A nascent sector digital economy, intelligent manufacturing and new The workshop was jointly orga- However, unlike the U.S., which materials. nized by three NGOs from China has veteran companies exploring “China will enhance international cooperation and and the U.S.—the Chinese Society of Astronautics, Caelus Foundation and the Secure World Foundation. American spaceflight company “We are one global community when it comes to Virgin Galactic, one of the first to space, which is a global marketplace facing a jump into the fray, said early last year that it had nearly 8,000 online regulatory challenge. I think it is our responsibility to registrations of interest from 60 address all of these issues together and to try to countries and territories. At that WLPHWKHSODQZDVWRODXQFKLWVÀUVW resolve them so the future generations will have FRPPHUFLDOVSDFHWRXULVPÁLJKWVLQ 2021, with a 90-minute journey to access to space in the same way that we do.” cost $250,000. However, the launch — Richard Dalbello, Vice President of Global Engagement, Virgin Galactic

18 BEIJING REVIEW MAY 13, 2021 http://www.bjreview.com C O U R

T for communication and growing E S Y

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H space debris, which is increasing the O T O potential risk for spacecraft, inter- national space stations and manned space activities. “We are one global community when it comes to space, which is a global marketplace facing a regu- latory challenge. I think it is our responsibility to address all of these issues together and to try to resolve them so the future generations will have access to space in the same way that we do,” Dalbello said. Zhao echoed him, saying space resources belong to all; so cooperation is the best way to har- ness them. He proposed building a Richard Dalbello, Vice President of Global Engagement, Virgin Galactic, addresses a workshop via shared mechanism with a satellite video link during the China Space Conference in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, on April 25 constellation that can be customized according to different demands. It provide more commercial space services to global us- Zhao said, adding that technologies FDQEHPDQDJHGMRLQWO\ZLWKSURÀWV ers,” Fu said. and products with significant inno- shared by the companies from dif- Over 200 companies dealing in rockets, satel- vation should be developed. ferent countries that build it. lites and their applications have emerged in China in “With more companies sharing recent years. The industry has seen much progress, Global blueprint the cost, it will be less expensive to including activities expanding from low-Earth orbit to A recent article published by CNN, operate and benefit more people. outer space and integration of aerospace and marine Why China’s Space Program Could The lower cost will inject impetus engineering technologies. Besides government sup- Overtake NASA, said that the space into quality infrastructure construc- port, technology breakthroughs achieved in the past race in the 21st century is not so tion, which will form a virtuous decades by traditional institutions provide the founda- much between governmental ac- cycle,” he said. tion for emerging players such as China Rocket Co. tivities but between the Chinese Some U.S. companies still have Set up in 2016, China Rocket provides flexible and U.S. commercial space indus- a stereotyped idea that China’s and economical launch services such as the Jielong try. The competition has “already commercial aerospace industry is a series of indigenously manufactured rockets that op- emerged in low-Earth orbit, [and] completely different business and erate at competitive costs. Notably, the company is will extend to Moon and eventually that the role of the government, also improving its sea launch technology and running Mars in the coming decades,” it pre- EXVLQHVVPRGHOVDQGHYHQWKHGHÀ- research and development of reusable rockets. dicted. nition of “commercial” are different The Chinese launch sites are mostly in deserts Richard Dalbello, Vice President from those in other countries. or among mountains, which increases transportation of Global Engagement, Virgin Wu said China’s industry is costs and reduces commercial efficiency. With sea Galactic, said competition in space developing in the same way as in launches, commercial rocket companies can integrate is inevitable as technology advanc- the rest of the world, comprising manufacturing and launch. es. But cooperation is necessary as an emerging corporate sector with Jin Xin, Vice President of China Rocket, said there is still a substantial amount of ÀHUFHFRPSHWLWLRQJRYHUQPHQWVXS- local governments are showing great interest in the work to be done by governments port, participation of capital, and space industry. However, more support from the and others working in commercial promising players. BR Central Government in policies, funds, and taxation is space. (Reporting from Nanjing, still needed. “In return, the industry will promote lo- With all of these new technolo- Jiangsu Province) cal economic development,” he said. gies, some of the older issues are China’s commercial aerospace industry needs an also harder to address, he said, cit- Copyedited by Sudeshna Sarkar improved supply chain with a better business model, ing the allocation of global spectrum Comments to [email protected] http://www.bjreview.com MAY 13, 2021 BEIJING REVIEW 19 COVER STORY 6.<52&.(7,1* Private rocket developers in China have taken off, embarking X

on a long march By Yuan Yuan I N H U A The carrier rocket CERES-1 developed by company Galactic Energy blasts off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Gansu Province on November 7, 2020

hinese private rocket The success in 2019 has instilled confidence in Peng Xiaobo, founder of i- developer, i-Space has suc- China’s private rocket developers and in turn helped Space, which is also known as Ccessfully completed a test the company to secure more investment. One year Beijing Interstellar Glory Space run on a new engine it hopes will after that launch, another private Chinese company, Technology, used to be a rocket power its next test rocket later this Galactic Energy, was also able to successfully launch designer at the China Academy of year. The breakthrough was made a satellite with its own rocket. Launch Vehicle Technology. He on April 26, just three days before While the company’s failed launch in February established i-Space after seeing a China’s launch of Tianhe, the core might have dampened some of the enthusiasm in market for commercial rockets. PRGXOHIRULWVÀUVWSHUPDQHQWVSDFH China’s private rocket industry, it hasn’t hindered At that stage, there were already station Tiangong. the company’s preparations for the upcoming launch private rocket developers in China, While visually less spectacular later this year. who were working to raise funds than the launch of Tianhe, the i- and make maiden launches. Space test run was important for the New space players “There were two reasons why company as it prepares for its next at- Aerospace had been a government-funded undertak- investors were hesitant to invest tempt to send a rocket into orbit. This ing in China until 2014, when it gave the green light in this industry during its early will be the company’s third such for private companies to participate in aerospace stages,” said Li Xin, a Beijing- attempt since its establishment in development. In 2016, the National Development based investor. “One is that many 2FWREHU,WVÀUVWLQ-XO\ and Reform Commission as well as the State investors were not familiar with was successful; however, its second Administration of Science, Technology and Industry aerospace technology, and the other in February this year, was not. for National Defense released more detailed plans for is that the industry had long been These attempts have placed i- the opening of the industry to private companies. run by the state, so it was difficult Space in the national spotlight. Prior These plans were a stimulus for rapid develop- WRREWDLQVXIÀFLHQWGDWDWRHVWLPDWH to its successful launch in 2019, two ment of the industry, inspiring some aerospace market performance.” other Chinese private rocket devel- experts to establish aerospace firms, with many Founded in October 2016, opers had tried and failed, making FKRRVLQJWRVWDUWÀUPVIRFXVLQJRQWKHGHYHORSPHQW i-Space didn’t receive its first in- i-Space the first Chinese private of satellites. Satellites need be sent into orbit by rock- vestment until August 2017. In space firm to send a satellite into ets, yet currently, the cost of launching satellites is 2018, two rocket launch attempts orbit, and marking a milestone for mostly higher than that of developing them, hinder- respectively by two other compa- China’s commercial space industry. ing the development of the industry. nies, OneSpace and LandSpace,

20 BEIJING REVIEW MAY 13, 2021 http://www.bjreview.com both failed, creating a gloomy at- LQWHQWLRQVLQODXQFKLQJLWVÀUVWURFNHWµ/LXVDLG´)RU ment of about $225 million, will mosphere around the industry. But Galactic Energy, launching a rocket was just the be used for research, development the successful launch by i-Space start of a long march. The goal of our private rocket and production of liquid propel- in 2019 marked a turning point developers is to lower launching cost by developing lant rocket engines for Galactic in public perception. The rocket, reusable carrier rockets.” Energy’s Pallas series of launch Hyperbola-1, carried two satellites vehicles. and three additional payloads into The layout Other public-private partnerships orbit at an altitude of 300 kilome- In late 2018, LandSpace opened China’s first pri- include a major commercial aero- ters, making i-Space the third in the vately owned carrier rocket factory in Huzhou, a city space base in Wuhan, capital city of world to do so after SpaceX and in Zhejiang Province. With the factory, the largest of Hubei Province in central China, and Blue Origin from the United States. its kind in Asia, LandSpace is about to mass produce a coastal facility for sea launches and “When talking about rocket de- rockets. launch vehicle production in the east- velopers, many would think of Elon LandSpace plans to launch its ZQ 2 rocket this ern province of Shandong. Musk,” said i-Space Vice President year, and begin mass producing the rocket and its “Besides the United States and Huo Jia. “Musk’s company SpaceX engines in the near future. According to Zhang Russia, China is the only country in was founded in 2002 and achieved Changwu, founder of LandSpace, starting from 2022, the world that has an entire industri- orbit in 2008. We cut that process the plant will be able to produce 15 ZQ 2 rockets and al chain of rocket manufacturing,” to less than three years.” 200 engines per year. Huo said. “This is our advantage.” Galactic Energy was established To fund the ZQ 2 program, LandSpace raised 1.2 In January, i-Space was report- in 2018 and followed i-Space to be- billion yuan ($175 million) in its 2020 round of fi- edly planning to conduct an initial come China’s second private space nancing, the largest ever fundraising event in China’s public offering in the science firm to successfully achieve orbit private space industry. and technology-focused science in November 2020. The company’s The development of the private rocket companies and technology innovation board founder, Liu Baiqi, was previously has also received support from local governments in in Shanghai. If the listing goes an associate professor at Beihang China. In September 2020, Galactic Energy signed an smoothly, it will become the first University, formerly known as agreement with the government of Jianyang, a coun- commercial rocket firm listed on Beijing University of Aeronautics ty-level city under the administration of Chengdu, the market in China. and Astronautics. Sichuan Province, to construct a base there. It is estimated that at least 3,000 “Each company has different The base in Jianyang, with a planned total invest- Chinese commercial satellites are waiting to be carried into orbit and this number will increase in the following years with the growing demand for satellite service. Wang Yanan, Chief Editor of Aerospace Knowledge magazine, suggested major private commercial aerospace enterprises seek partici- pation in more projects, such as the construction of space stations, and Moon and Mars exploration, for more sustained development. “The participation of China’s commercial aerospace enterprises will help the sector make advances in many as- pects such as cost control, decision- making efficiency and adapting to new technological changes,” Wang

X said. BR I N H U A Rocket models stand in the carrier rocket factory of LandSpace in Huzhou, Zhejiang Province, Copyedited by G.P. Garth on May 26, 2020 Comments to [email protected] http://www.bjreview.com MAY 13, 2021 BEIJING REVIEW 21