LinkSpace

LinkSpace[1] (Chinese: 翎客航天[2][3]; pinyin: Líng-kè Hángtiān; literally: "LINK Aerospace") or Link Space Aerospace Technology Inc.[4] is a Chinese private space launch company based in Beijing. It is led by CEO Hu Zhenyu,[5] and founded as the first private rocket firm in China.[6] The company was founded in 2014, by Hu Zhenyu, graduate of South China University of Technology, and Yan Chengyi, graduate of Tsinghua University, and Wu Xiaofei, manufacturing expert, with a registration in Shenzhen.[7]

Rockets

Test rockets

In 2013, before the official registration of the company, Hu's team was testing the KC-SA-TOP suborbital rocket with 50 kg (110 lb) payloads in Keerqinzuoyihouqi, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.[6][7]

VTVL prototypes

LinkSpace has built flying vertical-takeoff/vertical-landing (VTVL) prototype test rockets, to develop its reusuable rocket technology. By July 2016, it achieved hover flight with a single-engine thrust-vectored rocket. By September 2017, it had built three hovering rockets, tested in Shandong Province.[5]

New Line 1

The New Line 1 (Xin Gan Xian 1; Chinese: 新干线一号; pinyin: xīn gàn xiàn 1) is a two-stage rocket under development to launch microsats and nanosats, with a reusable first stage. It is to be a liquid-fuelled rocket, with a diameter of 1.8 m (5.9 ft), height of 20 m (66 ft). It would have a lift-off mass of 33 t (32 long tons; 36 short tons) and take-off thrust of 400 kN (90,000 lbf), allowing a payload of 200 kg (440 lb) to be lifted into a Sun synchronous orbit (SSO) of 249–550 km (155–342 mi) high.[8]

The first stage would have four liquid engines, fuelled by kerolox (liquid oxygen and kerosene), each producing 100 kN (22,000 lbf) of thrust.[9] It is projected to have an initial launch cost of $4.5 million, dropping to $2.25 million using a reused first stage.[8] As of the end of 2017, the main rocket engine has been tested over 200 times, and first launch is planned for 2020.[10]

Future New Line rockets

Future development of a reusable second stage, in addition to the reusable first stage, is anticipated for in a future vehicle, such as New Line 3.[5]

Services

LinkSpace is planning to also be a transport and rocket services company, providing rocket parts, and transportation. As part of the transportation, it will not just send payloads into orbit, or on suborbital jaunts; it also plans to send packages from one point on Earth to another point. This is similar to SpaceX's plan for suborbital rocket passenger transport anywhere around the world, and to rocket mail plans with BFR.[11]

Marketplace

LinkSpace is in competition with several other Chinese rocket startups, being LandSpace, OneSpace, ExPace.[12] With rocket reusability and point-to-point transport, it is similar to SpaceX.[11]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "重磅！中国成功测试可回收火箭[视频]" (in Chinese). DWNews. 9 January 2018.
  2. ↑ http://linkspace.com.cn/
  3. ↑ Henri Kenhamn (2017). "LandSpace : le futur SpaceX chinois" (in French). East Pendulum.
  4. ↑ China Central Television (28 December 2016). "Chinese private rocket firm takes flight". CCTV.
  5. 1 2 3 "In the Footsteps of SpaceX: Chinese Company Eyes Development of a Reusable Launch Vehicle". AstroWatch.net. 17 September 2017.
  6. 1 2 "21-yr-old man sets up China's first private rocket firm". ANSA. People's Daily Online. 31 July 2014.
  7. 1 2 "China's first private rocket firm aims for market". Space Daily. XNA. 19 August 2014.
  8. 1 2 "China's Link Space Unveiled Design for a Reusable Rocket". Futurism. 2017.
  9. ↑ "Breaking SpaceX: China's LinkSpace Reveals Rockets That Are Reusable". Wall Street Pit. 26 September 2017.
  10. ↑ Jeffrey Lin; P.W. Singer; (18 December 2017). "China could become a major space power by 2050". Popular Science.
  11. 1 2 Rich Smith (8 October 2017). "Is This Chinese Company the Next SpaceX?". Motley Fool.
  12. ↑ Doug Messier (20 December 2017). "EXPACE Raises $182 Million for Small Satellite Launchers". Parabolic Arc.
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