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CAS Space

CAS Space (Chinese: 中科宇航) is a Chinese commercial space launch provider based in Guangzhou. It was founded in 2018 and majority owned by the Chinese Academy of Sciences.^[1][2]

CAS Space was founded in Beijing, but the company is now headquartered in Guangzhou, China, while its Beijing location continues to be its primary R&D center. The company has constructed its dedicated launch pad and facilities at the JSLC.^[2] The launch pad is considered the first launch pad in China built for commercial use. The company has multiple subsidiaries, including a Guangzhou-based subsidiary responsible for the operation of its aerospace technology and industry base, and a Xi'an-based subsidiary for propulsion system.^[2]

CAS Space aims to materialize research projects from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and is dedicated to space exploration, research, and providing launch services. The company is currently developing the Kinetica rocket family. The enterprise's motto is "Go above and beyond," or『无畏向上 无限可能』as it is publicized in Chinese.^[2]

CAS Space's first solid-fuel launch vehicle Kinetica 1 (Lijian-1, PR-1)^[3][4] is 30 m (98 ft) tall, 2.65 m (8 ft 8 in) in diameter and weighs 135 t (149 tons). It consists of four solid fuel stages. The Kinetica 1 is capable of lifting 1.5 t (1.65 tons) to SSO at an altitude of 500 km or 2 t (2.20 tons) to LEO.^[5][6]

The Kinetica 2 is a medium-lift liquid propellant rocket. It is scheduled for its debut flight in 2025, with plans for the first stage and booster recovery by 2027.^[7] Featuring a CBC design, it boasts a core stage with a diameter of 3.35 meters and stretches 53 meters in length. It is capable of delivering payloads up to 7.8 tons to SSO at 500 km altitude and 12 tons to LEO.^[8] The Kinetica 2H variant is capable of delivering payloads up to 12 tons to SSO at an altitude of 500 km.^[9]

The Kinetica 3, a reusable vehicle, will be capable of delivering payloads up to 20 tons to SSO at an altitude of 500 km.^[9]

In August 2021, CAS Space announced that it was developing a single-stage sub-orbital space tourism vehicle similar to Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket. The vehicle, consisting of a booster and capsule, would be powered by five Xuanyuan engines. An uncrewed demonstration flight is expected to take place in 2022, followed by a full-fledged uncrewed suborbital flight in 2023, with tourism service set to begin in 2024.^[10][11] The timeline for achieving mature, round-trip suborbital space tourism has been extended to 2030.^[7]