Capable of carrying seven passengers past the Kármán line to experience approximately four minutes of weightlessness... The latest progress in China's space tourism endeavors was revealed at the Fourth China Space Science Conference, which opened in Beijing on November 22. Attending experts and scholars believe that with the continuous improvement of the industrial chain and ongoing breakthroughs in core technologies, China's commercial space sector has entered a new phase of steady and rapid development, bringing the once-distant prospect of "space tourism" closer to reality.
At the "Aerospace New Technologies and Achievements Exhibition" held alongside the conference, a model of Lihong-2, China's first reusable vehicle designed for space tourism, attracted numerous visitors. Staff at the Zhongke Aerospace exhibition booth informed reporters that Lihong-2 will transport passengers to space using a "rocket-capsule separation" method: after reaching a predetermined altitude, the crew capsule separates from the rocket, continues past the 100-kilometer Kármán line, begins a roughly four-minute weightless phase, then returns to Earth, landing by parachute, while the rocket itself will perform a vertical landing for recovery. "Our goal is for Lihong-2 to be reusable over 30 times, which will significantly reduce flight costs and allow more people to experience space tourism."
The rapid development of China's commercial space sector is making space tourism increasingly feasible. The industry widely recognizes that breakthroughs in core technologies, represented by reusable rockets, are key drivers for the acceleration of commercial spaceflight. According to statistics, the period from late 2025 to early 2026 will see an intensive wave of first flights for reusable rocket technologies in China. Multiple reusable rockets, including LandSpace's "Zhuque-3" (Vermilion Bird-3), Zhongke Aerospace's "Lijian-2" (Sharp Sword-2), Space Honor's "Hyperbola-3," and Galactic Energy's "Zhishenxing-1" (Wisdom Deity Star-1), are scheduled for their maiden launches.
Not only is rocket development accelerating, but satellite applications are also continually expanding. At this exhibition, satellite companies such as MicroSpace also showcased their latest R&D achievements. Liu Xiaoguang, Brand Director of MicroSpace, introduced that the upcoming "All-Weather Guardian" MN200S-2 (01B) satellite is a benchmark technology satellite independently developed by the company in the field of commercial X-band phased array radar imaging. It can be widely applied in scenarios such as emergency disaster response, maritime rights protection, national land security, ecological monitoring, and smart city construction. It also enables high-density stacked launches of multiple satellites, providing crucial technical verification and engineering practice basis for subsequent large-scale satellite networking and formation flying. "Guided by the national capability construction for low-orbit satellite internet, MicroSpace has initiated batch production and low-cost satellite manufacturing."
The industry believes that China has now formed a complete commercial space industry chain covering rocket development, satellite manufacturing, launch services, and ground applications, with industrial cluster effects gradually emerging. In Beijing, the industrial layout of "South Rockets, North Satellites" is taking shape: Yizhuang New Town is building the country's first common aerospace R&D and production base—"Rocket Street." Haidian District, as the core area for "North Satellites," has gathered nearly 200 related enterprises covering commercial satellite manufacturing, measurement, control, operation, and data application. "Building on this foundation, Haidian is fully advancing the construction of the 'Two Zones, One Platform' for the Satellite Town: the pilot zone has already attracted over 40 commercial space enterprises; the core area of the Satellite Town, adjacent to the Aerospace City, spanning 540,000 square meters, is expected to be completed by June 2026 and will focus on attracting upstream and downstream satellite companies; simultaneously, the Satellite Town plans to establish a public service platform offering various testing services for entire satellites and components, including mechanical, thermal vacuum, and radiation resistance tests," introduced Duan Yeye, the liaison for the Satellite Town core area.
"The advantage of China developing commercial spaceflight lies in its large talent pool, concentrated efforts, and strong competitiveness, enabling rapid iteration of technologies and products that keep pace with international trends," said Zhang Yonghe, Deputy Director of the Innovation Academy for Microsatellites of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, in an exclusive interview. However, he noted that currently, most Chinese commercial space enterprises and talent are concentrated in the manufacturing sector. "We still need more people who can create missions, who have very forward-thinking ideas and disruptive approaches that can change the current space model."
Zhang Yonghe believes the key for commercial space is to create demand. "For instance, space tourism is a demand created by commercial spaceflight, extending people's daily tourism activities into space, which represents an industrial increment." In the future, the low-altitude economy and space internet will also open up new realms of imagination. "With a solid technological foundation, new industrial forms will grow naturally."
Nevertheless, industry experts also point out that China's commercial space development still faces challenges such as insufficient institutional and mechanism innovation and the need for breakthroughs in some core technologies. From a policy perspective, in recent years, the state has continuously increased support for commercial spaceflight. Relevant supportive policies and industry regulations are being gradually refined, aiming to optimize the market environment, increase support for core technology R&D, foster a favorable ecosystem for high-quality development in commercial space, and promote the gradual maturation of new business models like space tourism.
The industry widely believes that commercial space has become an important growth area in building China into a strong space power. From breakthroughs in reusable launch vehicle technology to the expansion of satellite application scenarios, as technologies continue to mature, the industrial chain improves, and the policy environment optimizes, future "trips to space" are expected to gradually transition from professional exploration to public experience. China's commercial space sector is also poised to occupy a significant position in the global space economy landscape.
Editor Ⅰ: Zhang Congxiao
Editor Ⅱ: Bao Gang
Editor Ⅲ: Liu Guosong
