On the 14th of November 2024, Chinese based rocket manufacturer CAS space successfully launched 15 satellites into orbit. It not only launched satellites for Chinese clients, bur for the first time, launched satellites on behalf of a foreign client, which was Oman. This shows China’s fast growing space sector, both commercial and military, and its willingness to makes it mark in the US dominated industry.
Lift Off
The rocket which was used last week is called the Kinetica 1. It is a solid-propellant launch vehicle with an impressive 100% success rate. Its maiden launch was in July 2022, and it sent 37 payloads in three different missions in the space of 2 years. The height of the rocket is 30m and its payload capacity is 1.5 tonnes but can vary depending on its intended orbital path. CAS Space also has a few other rockets up their sleeves, well soon to be. They are currently building the Kinetica-2, which is a medium-lift liquid propellant launch vehicle. It is supposed to be a low-cost solution for cargo transportation to space, and it can be modified to meet a range of generalised, established technologies. In other words, this rocket can be tweaked to meet various clients’ demands. The height is 52m and has payload capacity ranging from 8 tonnes to 12 tonnes, and since it’s a re-usable launch vehicle, the company predicts it can be used on more than 20 different missions. Their heavy rocket, but still small in comparison to Space X’s Starship, is a reusable two stage to orbit launcher based on the Kinetica-2 but has 4 boosters to achieve a payload capacity of more than 20 tonnes. The Kinetica-2H has a height of 56m and can be used more than 20 different times. Their final product is the space tourism vehicle. It is planned to be a single-stage sub-orbital orbit and an observation pod. It can accommodate up to 7 travellers, and in the 10-minute journey, will cross the 100km mark called the Kármán line, and after that, the pod will land through a parachute system, ending the journey.
CAS Space’s project on space tourism aim to achieve a launch interval of 100 hours and will be set up like a theme park. It is to be designed as a space experience centre, with a theme park and educational centre where travellers or in other words, high paying clients, will be trained for their journey, so it isn’t open to the public, and isn’t a theme park as the name may suggest. The height of the launch vehicle will be 21m, and the payload will be 1 tonne. It can be used more than 30 times, and the flight duration is between 5 to 10 minutes.
A Threat or Competitor
CAS Space is private company founded in 2019. It is a subsidiary of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, which is a research institute based in Beijing. It is a public institution which was approved by the State Council. CAS is a comprehensive state research institution established by the central people's government. So, CAS Space may be a private company, but its owner has ties to the government, and its funding is by the government. However, CAS Space clearly states that its main projects are to conduct research projects for the CAS, and to dedicate themselves to space exploration, research, and providing launch services. That’s very exciting for engineers, clients and investors, but with the rising influence of BRICS and progress in other private space companies, should the US government be concerned? At the end of 2022, more than 430 commercial space companies were operating in China. And more than 10 major startups have sprung up in the past decade. To note, not all of these companies make rockets. The majority make components for rockets. For example, PIESAT is a Chinese company which provides satellite operations and communications. Others make sensors, and hardware for companies like CAS Space. You can call it the supply chain for the Chinese space programme. And that system is also adopted partially in the US, but most big America space companies either build the components themselves or purchase them from big companies.
So, should the US government be concerned. Yes, from a commercial standpoint, in the fact that China may catch up to them in the space race. But from a geopolitical standpoint, both countries should cooperate with each other in order for the international space race to excel.