China's first private carrier rocket can launch satellites and observe aircraft carriers within an hour

China's first private carrier rocket, Zhuque-1, completed final assembly on the 20th and is scheduled to be launched in the fourth quarter of this year. Just as Zhuque-1 was about to be completed, a Global Times reporter rushed to a place in the west and had a close contact with the rocket at the final assembly factory of the rocket. After American companies represented by SpaceX pioneered the model of commercial aerospace, many private companies in China also began to try related directions. In the interview, relevant experts were very confident that Chinese private aerospace companies could benchmark the advanced models of Europe and the United States and even participate in national aerospace projects.

A reporter from the Global Times recently drove out of the city of a western city and came to the "Zhuque-1" general assembly plant located in the suburbs. After anti-static treatment, the reporter finally walked into the general assembly plant. On one side of the plant, the "protagonist" of this article, the "Zhuque-1" carrier rocket, was placed horizontally. The reporter learned that the rocket is a standard three-body tandem solid rocket with a total length of 19 meters, a takeoff weight of 27 tons, and a takeoff thrust of 45 tons. Wei Lai, the technical director of Blue Arrow Aerospace, the company to which "Zhuque-1" belongs, told the Global Times reporter that this is a small carrier rocket they independently developed and designed. The technicians of the general assembly plant told reporters that unlike the traditional rocket test, launch and control systems, "Zhuque-1" has realized the integrated design of measurement and control systems. Such a design greatly reduces the scale and weight of the product, making the manufacturing cost more controllable.

As my country's first civilian carrier rocket that will put a satellite into orbit, what is the future application prospect of "Zhuque-1"? It is reported that the first mission of the rocket is to send the microsatellite "Future" into a sun-synchronous orbit for CCTV.

Weilai said that in the next two to three years, the company will continue to expand the microsatellite market with the help of Suzaku-1. In addition to the commercial microsatellite field, this rocket has a more critical application scenario: launching military emergency payloads to quickly enter space orbits to flexibly fill the gaps at the national level in emergency situations. "For example, if an aircraft carrier is sailing in the South China Sea and we want to know the specific movements of the aircraft carrier, Suzaku-1 can launch a satellite within an hour and observe and evaluate it at a fixed point over the relevant sea area. For another example, if a major natural disaster such as an earthquake occurs in a certain place and communications are interrupted, we can launch a satellite and conduct fixed-point observations in the sky."

China will launch the Chang'e-4 mission, the first soft landing on the far side of the moon, at the end of this year. In the future, it will also conduct a series of deep space exploration and scientific experiments such as Mars exploration. Will China's private rocket companies be able to participate in major national projects in the future? In fact, China has always had a clear positioning for commercial space: a "capability supplementer" for the national team.

Chinese aerospace technology expert Huang Zhicheng said in an interview with the Global Times that domestic companies like OneSpace and Blue Arrow have been trying their hand at small rocket launches in the past two years. In fact, they are making technical preparations for the future launch of medium and large commercial rockets. They still have a certain development vision, but the development path may be relatively long and cannot be achieved in a few years.

Weilai revealed that starting with their next core product, the "Zhuque-2" liquid oxygen-methane rocket, Blue Arrow will develop a series of rockets with different thrusts and different carrying capacities to adapt to different missions. He said that this rocket series is expected to provide "capability supplements" for the national team in specific space missions in the future, including launching rockets from geosynchronous orbit satellites to manned space return capsules, and assisting the national team in completing deep space exploration missions such as delivering materials to China's future space station and landing on Mars. "In the field of national strategic security, we will have relevant capabilities in the future, and we will also work hard to provide options for national needs."

Weilai said that as time goes by, Chinese private aerospace companies, including Landspace, will surely "go further and further, and go deeper and deeper." "Perhaps in another ten years, when the market has more trust and recognition in us, we will provide products and services that meet national needs and participate in major national projects such as deep space exploration."