China's first privately-developed carrier rocket for commercial use, called Chongqing Liangjiang Star, was launched from a test base in northwest China on Thursday morning, reports thepaper.cn.

 

澎湃新闻报道，中国首枚民营自主研发商用运载火箭“重庆两江之星”周四上午在西北某试验场发射升空。

 

Designed by OneSpace, a private domestic space technology company, the nine-meter-long rocket can send a 100 kilogram payload to an altitude of 800 kilometers.

 

OneSpace says the test launch was successful, and that data collected during the launch is currently being analyzed¹.

 

OneSpace estimates the launch cost for its rockets will be kept at around 10,000 U.S. dollars per kilogram, around one-third of the cost available in the international market.

 

Founded in August 2015, OneSpace says it plans to produce over 30 of its M-series rockets, and 20 of its X-series rockets by 2020.

 

A report by Beijing-based investment institution FutureAerospace, over the past three years more than 60 private Chinese firms have entered the commercial space industry with a focus on the production and launch of satellites and rockets. This follows a government policy issued in 2015 to encourage the growth of private space companies.

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