Commercial recoverable spacecraft completes test flight in China

JIUQUAN -- A Chinese spacecraft designed for space tourism on Monday completed its suborbital flight test mission in Northwest China.

Using a parachute-recovery system, the recoverable payload capsule landed safely and was retrieved at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center.

The flight test demonstrated the re-entry deceleration and completed the verification of recoverable payload module, and showcased the precision landing-control technology for the spacecraft's sub-stage, paving the way for the development of future space tourism activities, according to its developer, commercial Chinese aerospace enterprise CAS Space.

Designated Lihong-1 Y1, the spacecraft can reach altitudes of approximately 120 kilometers. It has low launch costs, a high level of flexibility, and the capability to recover experimental payloads.

For payloads, it can provide a highly stable and multi-functional experimental environment lasting more than 300 seconds, the company said.

It also noted that the spacecraft was carrying Chinese rose seed samples.

The flower seeds spent 300 seconds in space, where they were exposed to cosmic radiation that can induce gene mutations, said Shi Xiaoning, chief designer and project commander of Lihong-1. Once the samples are returned to Earth, scientists will cultivate them to develop new, high-quality rose varieties and establish an aerospace rose germplasm bank.

The spacecraft will be developed for multiple reuses. Its deputy chief designer, Wang Yingcheng, said that extensive tests are now underway to add crew-life-support and high-reliability escape technologies, which will boost low-cost suborbital scientific experiment capabilities and commercial space tourism capabilities.

In addition to the rose seeds, onboard payloads also included microgravity laser additive manufacturing equipment developed by the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Institute of Mechanics. CAS Space noted that the device provided initial proof that a rocket platform can be used to support space manufacturing.