CAS Space prepares Kinetica 2 rocket for maiden flight

CAS Space, a rocket maker owned by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, is finishing research and development on its new carrier rocket model, Kinetica 2, and plans to conduct its maiden flight before the end of 2025, the company said.

The Beijing-based company said in a news release on Tuesday that the first Kinetica 2 has been assembled and has begun comprehensive testing. The new rocket is scheduled to make its maiden flight in the fourth quarter, which will also mark the debut flight of a new robotic cargo vessel named Qingzhou, or Light Ship, that will sit atop the rocket.

The Kinetica 2 is a medium-lift, liquid-fuel rocket and the second launch vehicle developed by CAS Space, following Kinetica 1.

The 52-meter rocket will consist of a multi-stage core booster with a diameter of 3.35 meters and two side boosters. Its liftoff weight will be 625 metric tons, with a maximum thrust of 766 tons. The rocket will be able to transport spacecraft with a combined weight of 8 tons to a typical sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of 500 kilometers or 12 tons to low-Earth orbit.

The company expects Kinetica 2 to become the main transport vehicle for large-scale satellite deployments and low-cost supply missions for the Tiangong space station.

The first Qingzhou cargo vessel was built by the Shanghai-based Innovation Academy for Microsatellites of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The new ship will be used by the China Manned Space Agency to ferry necessities between Earth and the country's Tiangong space station, complementing the existing Tianzhou series.

To prepare for the flight, CAS Space has constructed a new technical preparations facility and a Kinetica 2 launch pad at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region.

In addition to the new rocket, CAS Space also announced on Tuesday that its liquid-fueled engine testing complex has been built in a mountainous suburb of Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong province, and has begun formal operations. The complex can service engine types with thrusts of up to 400 metric tons and can also test reusable engines, the company said.