China has some bold plans for space research and exploration that will take place in the coming decades. This includes doubling the size of its Tiangong space station, sending additional robotic missions to the moon, and building the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) around the lunar south pole. They also hope to begin sending manned missions to Mars by 2033, becoming the first national space agency to do so. Not wanting to be left behind in the commercial space sector, China also wants to develop a space tourism industry that offers suborbital flights for customers.
One of the companies offering these services is Jiangsu Deep Blue Aerospace Technology, a private launch company founded in November 2016 by Chinese entrepreneur Huo Liang. On October 24 at 6:00 p.m. local time (3:00 a.m. PDT; 6:00 a.m. EDT), Huo shared the companies' latest progress on their commercial spacecraft during a live Taobao “Make Friends” broadcast. He also announced the advance sale of tickets for the first suborbital launch in 2027. The company also published an infographic detailing the flight on Chinese social media platform Weixin (WeChat).
Commercial space travel has made significant progress in the United States and other countries in recent years. In 2021, Virgin Galactic launched its first commercial space mission from Spaceport America near Las Cruces, New Mexico, carrying Sir Richard Branson and select passengers into space. A few weeks later, Blue Origin conducted the first crewed mission of its New Shepard rocket, with CEO Jeff Bezos and a five-member crew launching from the company's launch site near El Paso, Texas. Later that year, SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft carried four passengers into orbit as part of the Inspiration4 mission, the first all-civilian spaceflight.
In addition to Deep Blue Aerospace, several commercial space startups have emerged in China since 2014, including Galactic Energy, LandSpace, LinkSpace, ExPace, OneSpace and Orienspace. These companies have been researching reusable rockets and engines for several years to realize domestic commercial launch capabilities. During this time, Deep Blue Aerospace has achieved many milestones that will enable commercial launches. Between 2021 and 2022, the company conducted “hop tests” of its Nebula-1 reusable rocket, which enabled China's first vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL).
The first test took place on October 13, 2021 and saw the Nebula-1 complete a 100-meter (328 feet) flight, followed by a 1 km flight on May 6, 2022. Unfortunately, the company experienced an accident during a 5 to 10 km (3 to 6.2 mile) test flight in September when the first stage of a Nebula-1 exploded while attempting to land. As the company explained in its infographic:
“To ensure the comprehensive maturity and stability of the technology, Deep Blue Aerospace is intensively preparing for the next high-altitude recovery test, striving for perfection in every detail. Improving rocket recovery technology will lay a solid foundation for Deep Blue Aerospace to advance suborbital travel projects and open a new chapter in human space exploration.”
According to the company, the first vertical recovery flight of the first stage of Nebula-1 will take place in November 2024. This will be followed by the rocket's first orbital re-entry and recovery test in the first quarter of 2025, as well as multiple recovery and reuse tests throughout the year. The company plans to conduct dozens of tests with a fully stacked Nebula-1 rocket and a manned spacecraft in 2026. If everything goes according to plan, the company will begin suborbital flights in 2027.
A direct comparison of the SpaceX Dragon and Deep Blue Space space capsules.
Image credit: SpaceX/Deep Blue Space
The infographic also previews what the launch vehicle and spacecraft will look like, which share some notable similarities to SpaceX and Blue Origin vehicles. For example, the crew capsule closely resembles SpaceX's Crew Dragon vehicle, which has a launch abort system consisting of eight engines distributed in four clusters. However, the Dragon space capsule only has two viewing windows, while the Nebula-1 reportedly has five (although the infographic shows eight), which is more similar to Blue Origin's New Shepard space capsule, which has six large viewing windows.
In addition, the Nebula-1 launch vehicle is also similar in design to SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket. This includes the payload fairing, the landing gear, the grid fins on the intermediate stage structure and the fold-out landing legs. The Nebula-1 also has nine Thunder R1 engines arranged in a circle around a single engine. This is very similar to the Falcon 9's arrangement of eight Merlin engines (which fire on takeoff) around a single engine used for landing. According to the rocket specifications, the Nebula-1 weighs 7,900 kg (8.7 US tons) fully fueled and has a LEO payload capacity of almost 2,000 kg (2.2 US tons) – although there are plans to increase this to 8,000 kg (8 .8 US tons)
The specifications also state that the rocket has a maximum altitude of 100 to 150 km (62 to 93 miles) and can be reused a maximum of 50 times. This is a far cry from the Falcon 9's launch mass of 549,054 kg (605 US tons) and payload capacity of 22,000 kg (24.25 US tons), and the number of times it can be reused is likely an inflated estimate . But the appearances still suggest that the Nebula-1's design was inspired by the Falcon 9, which set the standard for rocket recovery and reusability.
Meanwhile, the spacecraft reportedly measures 4 m (13 feet) in height and 3.5 m (11.5 feet) in diameter and can carry six passengers in a single flight. This is comparable to the New Shepard space capsule and is just under the Dragon's capacity of up to 7 passengers. However, on the first flight, three crew members will spend a total of 12 minutes in flight and 5 minutes in weightlessness. The rocket will fly to an altitude of 100 km (62 miles) – also known as: the Karman Line, the official boundary between Earth and space. As the company stated:
“During the suborbital flight of the Deep Blue spacecraft, passengers will experience much more than just a brief experience of weightlessness. You will experience the vastness and mystery of the universe and witness the magnificent landscape beyond Earth. This will be an immersive, multi-sensory space journey that will be memorable for a lifetime.”
Direct comparison of the Nebula-1 and Falcon 9 rockets. Photo credit: Deep Blue Space/SpaceX
Two tickets are offered in advance for 1.5 million yuan, the deposit is 50,000 yuan. This equates to approximately $200,000 and $7,000 respectively. Presumably, third place will be taken by Huo, who may hope to follow the lead of Branson and Bezos and take part in the first flight. Those who purchase the tickets will also receive a “1,000 yuan culture and creativity gift package” and a commemorative model of the Nebula-1 rocket. According to the infographic and explanation, they will also get the opportunity to watch the launch of a Long March rocket from a launch center of their choice – Jiuquan, Wenchang or Xichang.
Potential ticket buyers must also meet certain health requirements, undergo a medical examination, be between 18 and 60 years old, and attend pre-flight safety training one month before the flight. Because certain “technical details and specific information” are revealed during the flight, passengers are also required to sign a confidentiality agreement. For more details, please visit Deep Blue Aerospace's official Taobao store page.
The company also plans to unveil the Nebula-2, a medium-to-heavy launch vehicle powered by liquid oxygen and kerosene. This rocket will reportedly be capable of carrying payloads of up to 20,000 kg (22 US tons) to LEO (comparable to the Falcon 9) and its first launch is scheduled for late 2025.
Further reading: Weixin
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