i-Space ( zh, s=星际荣耀, p=xīngjì róngyào, l=Interstellar Glory)—also known as Space Honor,
[ Beijing Interstellar Glory Space Technology Ltd.,] Interstellar Glory or StarCraft Glory—is a Chinese private
Private or privates may refer to:
Music
* " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation''
* Private (band), a Denmark-based band
* "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...
space technology development
Development or developing may refer to:
Arts
*Development hell, when a project is stuck in development
*Filmmaking, development phase, including finance and budgeting
*Development (music), the process thematic material is reshaped
*Photographi ...
and space launch
Space launch is the earliest part of a flight that reaches space. Space launch involves liftoff, when a rocket or other space launch vehicle leaves the ground, floating ship or midair aircraft at the start of a flight. Liftoff is of two main t ...
company based in Beijing
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Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
, founded in October 2016.
The company is developing two-stage small satellite
A small satellite, miniaturized satellite, or smallsat is a satellite of low mass and size, usually under . While all such satellites can be referred to as "small", different classifications are used to categorize them based on mass. Satellites ca ...
orbital launchers based on solid propellant
A propellant (or propellent) is a mass that is expelled or expanded in such a way as to create a thrust or other motive force in accordance with Newton's third law of motion, and "propel" a vehicle, projectile, or fluid payload. In vehicles, the e ...
rocket engines procured from major Chinese government supplier China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation
The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, or CASC, is the main contractor for the Chinese space program. It is state-owned and has subsidiaries which design, develop and manufacture a range of spacecraft, launch vehicles, strategic ...
(CAST).
In July 2019, i-Space successfully launched the Hyperbola-1 and reached low Earth orbit
A low Earth orbit (LEO) is an orbit around Earth with a period of 128 minutes or less (making at least 11.25 orbits per day) and an eccentricity less than 0.25. Most of the artificial objects in outer space are in LEO, with an altitude never mor ...
on its maiden flight, becoming the first private company from China to achieve orbit. A second launch of the Hyperbola-1 in February 2021 failed to reach orbit, as did the third attempt in August 2021 and the fourth in May 2022.
History
The company was founded in 2016.
By 2019, i-Space had successfully launched the Hyperbola-1S and Hyberbola-1Z single-stage solid-propellant test
Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to:
* Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities
Arts and entertainment
* ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film
* ''Test'' (2014 film), ...
rockets into space on suborbital
A sub-orbital spaceflight is a spaceflight in which the spacecraft reaches outer space, but its trajectory intersects the atmosphere or surface of the gravitating body from which it was launched, so that it will not complete one orbital r ...
test flight
Flight testing is a branch of aeronautical engineering that develops specialist equipment required for testing aircraft behaviour and systems. Instrumentation systems are developed using proprietary transducers and data acquisition systems. D ...
s, and then reached low Earth orbit
A low Earth orbit (LEO) is an orbit around Earth with a period of 128 minutes or less (making at least 11.25 orbits per day) and an eccentricity less than 0.25. Most of the artificial objects in outer space are in LEO, with an altitude never mor ...
with Hyperbola-1 on its maiden flight on 25 July 2019, becoming the first private company from China to have achieved orbit.
The company raised in private capital in a series B
A venture round is a type of funding round used for venture capital financing, by which startup companies obtain investment, generally from venture capitalists and other institutional investors. The availability of venture funding is among the ...
round during 2020.[
]
Rockets
Suborbital rockets: Hyperbola-1S and Hyberbola-1Z
The Hyperbola-1S (also called SQX-1S), and the Hyperbola-1Z (also called SQX-1Z), are single stage, solid-propellant suborbital test rockets. The Hyperbola-1S rocket was long, with a diameter of and weighed . The Hyperbola-1Z rocket has a diameter of about , maximum design speed of and can reach altitude of on a suborbital trajectory.
The first sub-orbital
A sub-orbital spaceflight is a spaceflight in which the spacecraft reaches outer space, but its trajectory intersects the atmosphere or surface of the gravitating body from which it was launched, so that it will not complete one orbital re ...
test flight of Hyperbola-1S took place from Hainan
Hainan (, ; ) is the smallest and southernmost province of the People's Republic of China (PRC), consisting of various islands in the South China Sea. , the largest and most populous island in China,The island of Taiwan, which is slightly l ...
island on 5 April 2018 to an altitude of .
The second flight of i-Space was a commercial sub-orbital flight launched on 5 September 2018 from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center
Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center (JSLC; also known as Shuangchengzi Missile Test Center; Launch Complex B2; formally Northwest Comprehensive Missile Testing Facility (); Base 20; 63600 Unit) is a Chinese space vehicle launch facility (spac ...
in the Gobi desert
The Gobi Desert (Chinese: 戈壁 (沙漠), Mongolian: Говь (ᠭᠣᠪᠢ)) () is a large desert or brushland region in East Asia, and is the sixth largest desert in the world.
Geography
The Gobi measures from southwest to northeast an ...
, using the Hyperbola-1Z rocket. The sub-orbital flight reached an altitude of and a peak velocity of over . It carried payloads from private Chinese satellite companies ZeroG Labs and ADA-space. The rocket delivered three CubeSat
A CubeSat is a class of miniaturized satellite based around a form factor consisting of cubes. CubeSats have a mass of no more than per unit, and often use commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components for their electronics and structure. CubeSats ...
satellites one of which subsequently parachuted back to Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...
.
Hyperbola-1
The Hyperbola-1 (aka Shuang Quxian-1, SQX-1) (Chinese: 双曲线一号) rocket is tall, in diameter and weighs . It consists of four all solid fuel stages, guided by liquid fuel attitude control engines. It can launch into low Earth orbit
A low Earth orbit (LEO) is an orbit around Earth with a period of 128 minutes or less (making at least 11.25 orbits per day) and an eccentricity less than 0.25. Most of the artificial objects in outer space are in LEO, with an altitude never mor ...
(LEO).[ The rocket might be based on Chinese military missiles (perhaps ]DF-11
The Dong-Feng 11 (a.k.a. M-11, CSS-7) is a short-range ballistic missile developed by the People's Republic of China.
History
The DF-11 is a road-mobile short-range ballistic missile (SRBM) which began development in 1984 as the M-11, of whi ...
or DF-15
The Dong-Feng 15 (a.k.a. DF-15, M-9, CSS-6) is a short-range ballistic missile developed by the People's Republic of China. The DF-15 and the newer DF-16 are thought to be the only non-nuclear missiles in use by the People's Liberation Army Rock ...
). The first stage of the rocket is equipped with four grid fin
Grid fins (or lattice fins) are a type of flight control surface used on rockets and bombs, sometimes in place of more conventional control surfaces, such as planar fins. They were developed in the 1950s by a team led by and used since the 197 ...
s. The launch price is reported around US$5 million.
Its successful maiden flight was on 25 July 2019, at 05:00 UTC from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center
Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center (JSLC; also known as Shuangchengzi Missile Test Center; Launch Complex B2; formally Northwest Comprehensive Missile Testing Facility (); Base 20; 63600 Unit) is a Chinese space vehicle launch facility (spac ...
. It launched from a movable supporting platform. It placed numerous payloads, among them the CAS-7B amateur radio satellite, into orbit above Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...
. CAS-7B decayed from orbit 6 August 2019. It was the first Chinese private company to achieve orbit (orbital launches of other private companies before had failed).[
A second launch occurred on 1 February 2021, at 08:15 UTC (16:15 Beijing Time) from ]Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center
Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center (JSLC; also known as Shuangchengzi Missile Test Center; Launch Complex B2; formally Northwest Comprehensive Missile Testing Facility (); Base 20; 63600 Unit) is a Chinese space vehicle launch facility (spac ...
with 6 unidentified satellites but failed to reach orbit. A subsequent investigation revealed that a piece of insulation had broken off and got stuck in the turning mechanism of grid fin
Grid fins (or lattice fins) are a type of flight control surface used on rockets and bombs, sometimes in place of more conventional control surfaces, such as planar fins. They were developed in the 1950s by a team led by and used since the 197 ...
Number IV. When the piece was blown away, the control system then suddenly overcompensated, resulting in the rocket being ripped apart by excessive aerodynamic forces. The rocket was named " Tianshu" because its outer fuselage was covered with the artistic creations (images of compound made-up Chinese characters) of the contemporary artist Xu Bing.
iSpace launched a third Hyperbola-1 solid-rocket vehicle on 3 August 2021.[Mystery surrounds Chinese private rocket launch attempt]
Andrew Jones, SpaceNews
''SpaceNews'' is a print and digital publication that covers business and political news in the space and satellite industry. ''SpaceNews'' provides news, commentary and analysis to an audience of government officials, politicians and executives ...
, 3 August 2021. SpaceNews
''SpaceNews'' is a print and digital publication that covers business and political news in the space and satellite industry. ''SpaceNews'' provides news, commentary and analysis to an audience of government officials, politicians and executives ...
was reporting the same day that the outcome of the launch was unknown, but that amateur video of the launch had been posted, but then deleted from Chinese social media.[ After most of the day had passed, the Chinese official media ]Xinhua
Xinhua News Agency (English pronunciation: )J. C. Wells: Longman Pronunciation Dictionary, 3rd ed., for both British and American English, or New China News Agency, is the official state news agency of the People's Republic of China. Xinhua ...
reported that the launch was unsuccessful due to off-nominal performance of the rocket which resulted in a failure to achieve orbit. An official statement released by the company itself the following day clarified that the failure was caused by a malfunctioning in the fairing separation process, that precluded the payload from reaching the target orbit.
A fourth launch attempt on May 13th 2022 was unsuccessful as well.
Hyperbola-2
The Hyperbola-2 (Chinese: 双曲线二号) is a two-stage, liquid-fueled, reusable rocket designed to be able lift 1.9 tons into LEO. It uses liquid oxygen
Liquid oxygen—abbreviated LOx, LOX or Lox in the aerospace, submarine and gas industries—is the liquid form of molecular oxygen. It was used as the oxidizer in the first liquid-fueled rocket invented in 1926 by Robert H. Goddard, an applica ...
and methane
Methane ( , ) is a chemical compound with the chemical formula (one carbon atom bonded to four hydrogen atoms). It is a group-14 hydride, the simplest alkane, and the main constituent of natural gas. The relative abundance of methane on Eart ...
as fuel. The first stage is expected to land propulsively in order to be reused. The JD-1 engine made its first hot fire test in May 2020. As of July 2022, the first launch is expected to occur in 2023 following a series of first stage hop tests.
Other developments
In May 2018, i-Space indicated they hoped to eventually develop a reusable sub-orbital spaceplane
A spaceplane is a vehicle that can fly and glide like an aircraft in Earth's atmosphere and maneuver like a spacecraft in outer space. To do so, spaceplanes must incorporate features of both aircraft and spacecraft. Orbital spaceplanes ten ...
(Chinese: 亚轨道概念飞行器) for space tourism
Space tourism is human space travel for recreational purposes. There are several different types of space tourism, including orbital, suborbital and lunar space tourism.
During the period from 2001 to 2009, seven space tourists made eight s ...
.
Marketplace
i-Space is in competition with several other Chinese space rocket startups, being LandSpace
LandSpace Technology Corporation (doing business as LandSpace) is a Chinese private space launch provider based in Beijing. It was founded in 2015 by Zhang Changwu.
LandSpace developed its first launch vehicle Zhuque-1, powered by solid-prope ...
, Galactic Energy
Galactic Energy () is a Chinese private space launch enterprise flying the Ceres-1 and developing the Pallas-1 and 2 orbital rockets. The company's long-term objective is to mine asteroids for rare metals and minerals.
History
Galactic Energ ...
, ExPace
ExPace (ExPace Technology Corporation), also called CASIC Rocket Technology Company, is a Chinese state-owned space rocket company, based in Wuhan, Hubei, China. Its corporate compound is located at the Wuhan National Space Industry Base space ...
, LinkSpace
LinkSpace ( zh, s=翎客航天, p=Líng-kè Hángtiān , l= LINK Aerospace) or Link Space Aerospace Technology Inc. is a Chinese private space launch company based in Beijing. It is led by CEO Hu Zhenyu, and founded as the first private rocket fi ...
, OneSpace
OneSpace ( zh , s=零壹空间 , p= Líng Yī Kōngjiān , l= Zero One Space ) or One Space Technology Group ( zh , s= 零壹空间科技 , p= Líng Yī Kōngjiān Kējì , l= Zero One Space Technology ) is a Chinese private space launch group ba ...
and Deep Blue Aerospace Jiangsu Deep Blue Aerospace Technology Co., Ltd. () is a private space launch enterprise founded in November 2016 by Huo Liang. The company is located in the Jiangsu province on the East coast of China. It is engaged in the reusability of rockets. ...
.
See also
* OneSpace
OneSpace ( zh , s=零壹空间 , p= Líng Yī Kōngjiān , l= Zero One Space ) or One Space Technology Group ( zh , s= 零壹空间科技 , p= Líng Yī Kōngjiān Kējì , l= Zero One Space Technology ) is a Chinese private space launch group ba ...
, a Chinese company competitor
* Space Pioneer
Space Pioneer (), also known as Beijing Tianbing Technology Co., Ltd., is a Chinese aerospace company developing reusable orbital rocket technology—both launch vehicles and liquid rocket engines—to access the market for low-cost space lau ...
, a Chinese competitor privately developing liquid rocket engine technology and launch vehicles
References
{{Reusable launch systems
Private spaceflight companies
Aerospace companies of China
Commercial launch service providers
Companies based in Beijing
Chinese companies established in 2016