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    Half Tones

    Aiming to Make History, China’s iSpace Plans June Rocket Launch

    May 15, 2019

    Private Chinese rocket company iSpace is planning to launch its first carrier rocket around June 10, the company told Sixth Tone on Wednesday. If successful, iSpace will become the first commercial company in the country to deliver a satellite into low Earth orbit.

    The iSpace rocket — known as the Hyperbola 1 Y1, or SQX-1 Y1 — is 21 meters long and weighs 31 tons, making it longer and heavier than the carrier rockets from two private companies that previously attempted the historic flight: Both LandSpace and OneSpace were unsuccessful in those launches, which took place in October 2018 and March of this year, respectively.

    China’s private space industry is a new yet already booming sector. Of the country’s 123 private companies specializing in various space fields — such as rocket building and satellite manufacturing — roughly half were established within the past three years. In 2018, over 3.5 billion yuan ($510 million) was funneled into China’s private space industry, a 62% increase compared with the previous year. (Image: Courtesy of iSpace)