China’s fast-expanding commercial space sector logs rare rocket failure

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BEIJING (Reuters) – CAS Space, one of China’s leading commercial rocket firms, said its Lijian-1 rocket unexpectedly failed on Friday, marking the first setback for the company’s main launch vehicle since its inaugural flight in 2022.

Until now, CAS Space, a Guangzhou-based commercial spin-off of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, had successfully launched a total of 57 satellites over five Lijian-1 flights.

Friday’s launch failed soon after blast-off, prompting the solid-propellant rocket to initiate self-destruction, CAS Space said in a statement, without stating the number of satellites onboard.

CAS Space said previously it had planned to deliver 11 satellites.

In November, a Lijian-1 launch successfully delivered 15 satellites to their assigned orbits, including a remote-sensing satellite for Oman, the company’s first international client.

At the time, Shi Xiaoning, the rocket’s chief designer, said the cost performance and reliability of Lijian-1 had been well-recognised by the international market.

CAS Space has plans to launch its next launch vehicle, Lijian-2, in 2025.

The rare failure comes as China’s commercial space sector is expanding fast and competition for local and international clients is growing.

Jielong-3, a small-lift rocket developed by China Rocket Co, is a close rival of Lijian-1 in terms of payload capacity. Its previous launch, its fourth, was in September.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for the expansion of strategic industries including the commercial space sector, which is deemed key to building constellations of satellites for communications, remote sensing and navigation.

(Reporting by Ryan Woo; Additional reporting by Ella Cao; Editing by Jamie Freed)