China’s first private commercial rocket blasts off

Beijing startup OneSpace sends suborbital carrier vehicle on maiden flight

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The OneSpace Chongqing Liangjiang Star -- an OS-X model -- is designed for suborbital flights. (Picture: OneSpace)

Published: 6:15pm, 17 May 2018Updated: 8:26am, 20 Sep 2019

This article originally appeared on ABACUS

There was a time when space missions were run exclusively by national space agencies and their contractors.

Then came SpaceX, Blue Origin, and other private ventures -- bringing innovative solutions like reusable rockets. They even have their sights set on spacecraft that will one day take humans as far as Mars.

Now one ambitious startup in China has made history by launching the country’s first private commercial rocket.

Chinese media say the 29.5-foot Chongqing Liangjiang Star took off from a testing facility in northwest China. It flew 170 miles (approximately the distance between New York and Baltimore) in just over 5 minutes, before plunging back to Earth as planned.

But unlike SpaceX’s Falcon 9 or Blue Origin’s New Glenn, the Chinese rocket developed by OneSpace is designed for suborbital flights -- going up and down again without circling the Earth.

Going into orbit requires a much higher speed and a lot more energy. In contrast, suborbital vehicles can travel more slowly -- which means they are typically smaller, lighter, and cheaper. The Chongqing Liangjiang Star weighs 15,900 pounds -- not much heavier than an African elephant.