Private sector players are also preparing to launch their rockets this year
May 6 at 11:21 Beijing time (03:21 UTC May 7) the first launch of the Long March 6C rocket took place from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in northern China. The Shanghai Academy of Space Technology (SAST), the launch vehicle's manufacturer, confirmed the successful completion of the mission an hour after liftoff. SAST is a major institute of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), the country's main government space contractor.
There were four satellites on board the rocket. The main payload was Haiwangxing-1, aka Neptune-1 – experimental 239-kilogram X-band radar satellite. Neptune-1 was manufactured by SAST for Zhihui Space Tech. The company plans to launch 12 operational satellites to create the «Neptune» constellation.
Among other satellites was Zhixing 1C – another satellite with a radar aperture antenna, this time for the Beijing company Smart Satellite. The remaining two vehicles are described as wide-field optical satellites and a high-resolution video satellite. The mission was to use the Long March 6C rocket to launch several satellites from different customers.
The new 43 meter tall rocket is the latest in a line of new generation launch vehicles developed by SAST and part of the Long March 6 family. The Long March 6C looks like a shortened version of the 50 meter Long March 6A without the latter's four solid rocket boosters . The rocket is capable of placing about 2,400 kg of payload into sun-synchronous orbit. Long March 6A can deliver 4500 kg to an altitude of 700 km. These options provide greater flexibility in orbit selection.
Long March 6C – SAST is not the only new launch vehicle. The Academy also plans to launch the 3.8-meter-diameter Long March 12 this year from a new launch site in Wenchang. It will be capable of launching 10 tons into low Earth orbit or 6 tons into a 700-kilometer sun-synchronous orbit.
The rockets are part of a new generation of Chinese launch vehicles that use kerosene and liquid oxygen. However, the limited number of spaceports capable of supporting these launches has slowed the rate of replacement of aging Long March rockets.
In addition to the above, there are more ambitious, but not yet defined plans. The Academy intends to present a rocket with a diameter of 4.0 meters using methane-liquid oxygen engines in the next couple of years.
A SAST promotional video released after the launch shows the Long March 6A and 6C next to two more rocket models. Both future models will apparently have landing legs for return and reuse. The specific purpose of these missiles is still unclear.
The China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT), based in Beijing, is another rocket design and manufacturing arm of CASC. CALT is developing a new reusable rocket, the Long March 10 for manned space flight. One of the options will be designed to send taikonauts and a landing complex to the Moon. In return mode, Long March 10 will slow down due to retro movement.
China is not stopping only at developing reusable launch vehicles using state-owned companies. Commercial space launch service providers are also actively working to develop reusable rockets.
One such project is Space Pioneer's Tianlong-3, which promises to be as powerful as the Falcon 9 rocket and should be launched soon. Landspace is developing its own stainless steel rocket, the Zhuque-3 in Jiuquan, and iSpace is working on the Hyperbola-3 methane-liquid oxygen rocket. Some of these companies have also conducted pilot tests with SAST and its large subsidiary CASIC.
The first attempt at an orbital launch may be the launch of the lightweight Nebula-1 from Deep Blue Aerospace in the second half of the year. Another company, Galactic Energy, is working on its first kerosene-liquid oxygen rocket, called Pallas-1. The first launch, scheduled for the end of the year, is expected to be primarily experimental.