Until now, Chinese space launch startups have been regularly demonstrating launch vehicles, failures or otherwise, with solid-fueled rocket engines with a heritage in the Long March and Dong Feng series. This changed when the Chinese space startup, Beijing Tianbing Technology, also known as Space Pioneer, successfully launched its first commercial liquid-fueled carrier rocket, Tianlong-2 Y1, from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China on Sunday.
On 2nd April 2023, at 4:48 p.m. BJT, the 35-metre-long rocket, with a take-off mass of 150 tonnes, blasted off into the sky, carrying a satellite into a pre-set orbit. The primary objective of the flight was to verify the overall plan of the rocket and systematic coordination, as well as to obtain the flight environment parameters of the launch vehicle. The satellite on board will be used for technology verification of remote sensing experiments.
The three-stage medium-lift launch vehicle is propelled by kerosene and liquid oxygen, also known as kerolox. It could cater to China’s demand for low-cost, high-reliability, quick-response, and large-scale launches of small satellites and constellations.
