Private firms race to build carrier rockets

The research and development of carrier rockets is a major sign of a space-faring nation's capability and had been long dominated by government-backed giants around the world.

However, in the wake of emerging business opportunities, the United States and China have realized that it is necessary to introduce new players to stimulate innovation and competition and to fill in market gaps left by established contractors.

As an important part of his endeavor to strengthen China's space industry, President Xi Jinping has requested that the long insulated industry should open its doors to private enterprises and take advantage of their participation to boost sustainable growth.

Meanwhile, several government departments have published policies and guidelines that encourage private businesses to take part in space-related businesses.

As a result, nearly 10 private rocket firms have been launched in China over the past three years.

Among them, i-Space and OneSpace Technology, two startups based in Beijing, have taken leading positions, as each has launched a test rocket developed on their own to verify their designs and equipment.

The two have made it clear that they have no intention of grabbing government-funded missions from State-owned space giants, namely China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp and China Aerospace Science and Industry Corp, but aspire to satiate the huge demand in launch service from newly founded satellite companies, most of which also are privately owned.

They are now focused on assembling new prototypes for further tests and striving to develop mass-production models that are expected to fulfill commercial contracts.

Xie Fang, a senior designer at i-Space, said the company plans to lift a Hyperbola-1Z experimental rocket in the coming months at a national space launch center, which he declined to name.

The mission is mainly tasked with demonstrating technologies for the Hyperbola-1, i-Space's first mass-production carrier rocket.