Deep Blue Aerospace secures new funding ahead of first orbital launch

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The Nebula-M1 test aircraft undergoes a VTVL test flight over Tongchuan City, Shaanxi Province, on May 6, 2022. credit: Deep Blue Aerospace

HELSINKI — Chinese rocket company Deep Blue Aerospace has secured new funding for its reusable rocket program, with its maiden launch planned for later this year.

The company recently completed its B and B1 fundraising rounds, raising hundreds of millions of yuan (tens of millions of dollars), which it said will “provide strong momentum for the development of reusable rockets.” statement.

Deep Blue Aerospace is set to launch its Nebula 1 rocket for the first time. New Commercial Spaceport China plans to launch and land the rocket in Wenchang, Hainan province, by the end of the year. It will also attempt to land the rocket’s first stage using retrorocket and landing gear, likely in what will be China’s first attempt at launching and landing an orbital rocket.

The company was successful Kilometer-class rocket launch and landing test The company is currently working to conduct a VTVL test of the Nebula 1 first stage by the end of June.

of Nebula 1 The is a two-stage rocket with a diameter of 3.35 meters. Fueled by kerosene and liquid oxygen, the rocket is equipped with nine variable thrust 3D printed Thunder R1 engines in the first stage and one engine in the second stage. The rocket can carry a 2,000 kilogram payload to low Earth orbit (LEO), and an improved version can carry an 8,000 kilogram payload to LEO.

Deep Blue Aerospace is also developing a larger rocket, the Nebula 2, capable of sending 20,000 kilograms of payload to LEO.

China’s planned commercial rocket capacity has increased significantly in recent years, due in large part to the adoption of a national plan to build a mega-constellation of more than 10,000 satellites by 2021.

The Chinese central government has since identified commercial space as a key future industry, and cities and provinces are now formulating and implementing policies to support growth and innovation in the sector. Playing an important role In the construction of the planned mega-satellite constellation.

The new commercial spaceport in Wenchang will help ease launch and spaceport access bottlenecks. A significant increase in launch rates will be needed for China to build its new satellite constellation. China’s launch activity is It has already exploded In recent years, before considering new satellite constellation plans,

China: Three constellations with over 10,000 satellitesThese are Guowang, G60 Starlink, and the newly filed Red Lake Constellation.

Deep Blue Aerospace’s latest funding isn’t surprising in the context of China’s commercial space program, but the company faces competition from a number of other commercial and state-owned companies.

Land containing methane and liquid oxygen Suzaku-2 Planned stainless steel Suzaku-3kerosene-fueled space pioneers Tenryu 3Galactic Energy (Pallas-1), and iSpace (Hyperbora series) are some of the companies working on developing reusable rockets.

companyRocket NameRocket typesMain Features/Notes
spaceHyperbola-3Methane-Liquid OxygenIts payload capacity for low earth orbit (LEO) is 8,500 kg, and its first flight is scheduled for 2025.
LandSuzaku-3MetaloxMaximum 21,000 kg payload to LEO. Stainless steel. First flight scheduled for 2025.
Galactic EnergyPallas-1Kerosene-Liquid OxygenPayload capacity to LEO is 5,000 kg and to 700 km Sun Synchronous Orbit (SSO) is 3,000 kg.
CAS SpaceKinetica 2KerorocksPayload capacity up to 500 km SSO is 7,800 kg.
Deep Blue AerospaceNebula 1KerorocksPayload capacity is 1,000 kg up to SSO at an altitude of 500 km and 2,000 kg up to LEO. First flight is scheduled for late 2024.
Space PioneersTenryu 3KerorocksIts launch capability will be comparable to that of the Falcon 9, and the first stage is expected to be reusable.
Space EpochXZY-1Metalox7,000kg to 1,100km. Made of stainless steel. First flight in 2025.
Orient SpaceGravity 2KerorocksCarry 25,600 kg to LEO. First flight in 2025. First stage will be reusable.
HelmetvariousvariousIt is working on developing a new generation of manned rockets, spaceplanes, and reusable rockets such as the Long March 9 super-heavy rocket.
A non-exhaustive list of China’s planned reusable rockets (Credit: Andrew Jones/SpaceNews).

Andrew Jones covers China’s space industry for SpaceNews. Andrew has previously lived in China and reported from major space conferences there. Based in Helsinki, Finland, he has contributed to National Geographic, New Scientist, Smithsonian Magazine, Sky…

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