LinkSpace explained

Link Space Aerospace Technology Inc.
Trade Name:LinkSpace
Type:Private
Industry:Aerospace
Founded:2014
Founder:Hu Zhenyu, Yan Chengyi, and Wu Xiaofei
Website:linkspace.com.cn

LinkSpace[1] (Chinese: s=翎客航天<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://linkspace.com.cn/ | title=Linkspace) or Link Space Aerospace Technology Inc. is a Chinese private space launch company based in Beijing. It is led by CEO Hu Zhenyu, and founded as the first private rocket firm in China. The company was founded in 2014, by Hu Zhenyu, a graduate of South China University of Technology; Yan Chengyi, a graduate of Tsinghua University; and Wu Xiaofei, a manufacturing expert. The company is registered in Shenzhen.[2]

Rockets

Test rockets

In 2013, before the official registration of the company, Hu's team was testing the KC-SA-TOP suborbital rocket with 50kg (110lb) payloads in Horqin Left Rear Banner, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.[3] [2]

Reusable Rocket Landing

LinkSpace launched a new prototype for a reusable rocket in Eastern China. The launch took place on April 2, 2019.[4]

VTVL prototypes

LinkSpace has built flying vertical-takeoff/vertical-landing (VTVL) prototype test rockets, to develop its reusable rocket technology. By July 2016, it achieved hover flight with a single-engine thrust-vectored rocket. By September 2017, it had built three hovering rockets, tested in Shandong Province.[5]

On 19 April 2019, the VTVL prototype test rocket RLV-T5 flew to a height of 40 m (131 ft) and landed safely after thirty seconds of flight.[6] RLV-T5, also known as NewLine Baby, is 8.1 m (27 ft) in length, weighs 1.5 t (1,100 lbs) and has five liquid engines.[7]

On 10 August 2019 the company reported a test flight reaching a height of 300 meters.[8]

On 5 May 2022, the company announced that it had conducted a static fire test of its RLV-T6 test vehicle in preparation for a altitude test flight in late 2022, but in September it was expected to be launched no earlier than mid-2023.[9] The rocket will launch from Lenghu, in Qinghai Province.[10]

New Line 1

The New Line 1 (Xin Gan Xian 1; Chinese: s=新干线一号|p=xīn gàn xiàn 1) is a two-stage rocket under development to launch microsats and nanosats, with a reusable first stage. It is to be a liquid-fuelled rocket, with a diameter of 5.9abbr=onNaNabbr=on, height of 66abbr=onNaNabbr=on. It would have a lift-off mass of 33t and take-off thrust of 400kN, allowing a payload of 440abbr=onNaNabbr=on to be lifted into a Sun synchronous orbit (SSO) of 155- high.

The first stage would have four liquid engines, fueled by kerolox (liquid oxygen and kerosene), each producing 100kN of thrust.[11] It is projected to have an initial launch cost of $4.5 million, dropping to $2.25 million using a reused first stage.[12] As of the end of 2017, the main rocket engine has been tested over 200 times, and first launch was planned for 2020.[13]

Future New Line rockets

Future development of a reusable second stage, in addition to the reusable first stage, is anticipated for in a future vehicle, such as New Line 3.[5]

Services

LinkSpace is planning to also be a transport and rocket services company, providing rocket parts, and transportation. As part of the transportation, it will not just send payloads into orbit, or on suborbital jaunts; it also plans to send packages from one point on Earth to another point. This is similar to SpaceX's plan for suborbital rocket passenger transport anywhere around the world with Starship.

Marketplace

LinkSpace is in competition with several other Chinese space rocket startups, being LandSpace, Galactic Energy, ExPace, i-Space, OneSpace and Deep Blue Aerospace.[14] With rocket reusability and point-to-point transport, it is similar to SpaceX.[15]

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: 重磅!中国成功测试可回收火箭[视频] ]. DWNews . 9 January 2018 . zh .
  2. News: China's first private rocket firm aims for market . XNA . Space Daily . 19 August 2014 .
  3. News: 21-yr-old man sets up China's first private rocket firm . People's Daily Online . ANSA . 31 July 2014 .
  4. Web site: Tone . Sixth . 2 April 2019 . Reusable Rocket Landing One Small Step for China's Space Startups . 2023-10-17 .
    1. SixthTone
    .
  5. Web site: In the Footsteps of SpaceX: Chinese Company Eyes Development of a Reusable Launch Vehicle . 17 September 2017 . AstroWatch.net .
  6. Web site: China's LinkSpace successfully launches reusable rocket to a new height. www.ecns.cn. 2019-04-22.
  7. Web site: LinkSpace successfully launches reusable rocket prototype. Room, The Space Journal. en-US. 2019-04-22.
  8. LinkSpace on Twitter: On August 10, LinkSpace's third rocket free flight test was successful in Mangai, Qinghai province. The flight time is 50 seconds, the height of flight is 300.4 meters.
  9. 1575247872542404608 . China Spaceflight . CNSpaceflight . Five engines on display in their rocket assembly/test facility in Jiangyin, Jiangsu. But it seems the rocket has been covered by a layer of dust. It's also mentioned in the interview that the 100km test flight has been postponed to NET mid-2023。 . 29 September 2022 . 29 September 2022.
  10. Web site: Jones . Andrew . LinkSpace returns: Chinese startup plans rocket launch and landing this year . . 6 May 2022 . 1 June 2022.
  11. Web site: Breaking SpaceX: China's LinkSpace Reveals Rockets That Are Reusable . 26 September 2017 . Wall Street Pit .
  12. Web site: China's Link Space Unveiled Design for a Reusable Rocket . Futurism . 2017 .
  13. China could become a major space power by 2050 . Jeffrey Lin . P.W. Singer . 18 December 2017 . Popular Science .
  14. News: EXPACE Raises US$182 Million for Small Satellite Launchers. 20 December 2017. Doug Messier. Parabolic Arc. 16 January 2018. 4 December 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201204225826/http://www.parabolicarc.com/2017/12/20/expace-raises-182-million-small-satellite-launchers/. dead.
  15. News: Is This Chinese Company the Next SpaceX? . Rich Smith . Motley Fool . 8 October 2017 .