ExPace Technology Corp., a Chinese state-owned rocket company based in Wuhan, has successfully sent four Tianmu-1 meteorological satellites into space from the country's Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on January 5, leveraging its Kuaizhou-1A launch vehicle. China's first rocket launch in 2024 also marks the basic completion of the Tianmu-1 meteorological constellation. Based on GNSS radio occultation technology, the satellites operate in the sun-synchronous orbit, and the constellation is expected to be completed in 2025.
As reported by China's state news agency Xinhua, it was the 25th flight mission of the Kuaizhou-1A rockets. Founded in 2016 as a subsidiary of China Aerospace Science & Industry Corp. (CASIC), ExPace focuses on launch services for low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellites in the range of 300kg. According to the company, the launch last week also propelled it into a new phase marked by mass production and group launch.
ExPace indicated that it adopted a "retail" approach in its early years, only initiating production after receiving an order. However, as the volume of orders gradually increased, ExPace adopted a new approach starting in 2022, characterized by the pre-production and early assembly of standardized rocket components, while the customized parts are only put into production after signing launch contracts. The new model, according to the company, significantly shortened the contract fulfillment time and enhanced the launch service efficiency.
Currently, Kuaizhou 1A is considered to be the most economical carrier in China with its payload cost estimated to be US$10,000 per kg. SpaceX's Falcon 9, in comparison, charges about US$2,700 per kg.
SpaceX's success in launch cost reduction has been crucial to the latest growth in the global space industry, and China has been working in this direction as well. The Long March rocket family, originally based on the medium-range ballistic missile DF-3A and operated by the state-owned China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp. (CASC), has long been the sole carrier of Chinese space launches since the early 1970s. Starting in 2019, CASC's subsidiary, China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, unveiled its Dragon family of solid-fueled launch vehicles. Together with the Kuaizhou family, it represents the Chinese state-owned sector's efforts to tap into the commercial launch industry.
Alongside the state sector are dozens of private-sector players seeking to enter the arena, including CAS Space, a space launch enterprise founded in 2018 and partly owned by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, with its Lijian (also known as Zhongke) family of carrier rockets. Another player is Galactic Energy, founded in 2018, with its Ceres and Pallas launch vehicle families. Other renowned players include OneSpace, iSpace, and LandSpace.
Based on publicly available information, there were 222 orbital launches worldwide in 2023, led by the United States with 108 launches, followed by China with 67 launches. Falcon-9 alone accounted for 44.4% with 96 rockets launched, while ExPace's Kuaizhou-1A had six launches in total, taking up a mere 2.8%. In contrast, 42 launches were conducted using various versions of the Long March rocket family, representing 19% of total launches worldwide.
