China has some bold plans for space research and exploration that will be taking place in the coming decades. This includes doubling the size of their 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 crewed missions to Mars by 2033, becoming the first national space agency to do so. Not to be left behind in the commercial space sector, China is also looking to create 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 24th, at 6:00 pm local time (03:00 am PDT; 06:00 am EDT), during a “Make Friends” Taobao live broadcast, Huo shared the companies’ latest progress on their commercial spacecraft. He also announced the pre-sale of tickets for the first suborbital launch in 2027. The company also posted an infographic with the details of the flight on the Chinese social media platform Weixin (WeChat).
Commercial space travel has advanced considerably in the U.S. and other countries in recent years. In 2021, Virgin Galactic launched its first commercial space mission from Spaceport America near Las Cruces, New Mexico, ferrying Sir Richard Branson and selected passengers to space. A few weeks later, Blue Origin conducted the first crewed mission of its New Shepard rocket, with CEO Jeff Bezos and a crew of five taking off from the company’s launch site near El Paso, Texas. Later that year, SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft took four passengers to orbit as part of the mission, Inspiration4, first all-civilian spaceflight.
In addition to Deep Blue Aerospace, multiple commercial space startups have emerged in China since 2014, including Galactic Energy, LandSpace, LinkSpace, ExPace, OneSpace, and Orienspace. For several years, these companies have been researching reusable rockets and engines to realize domestic commercial launch capability. During this time, Deep Blue Aerospace has accomplished many milestones that will make commercial launches possible. Between 2021 and 2022, the company completed “hop tests” using its Nebula-1 reusable rocket, which achieved China’s first vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL).
The first test occurred on October 13th, 2021, and saw the Nebula-1 complete a 100-meter (328 ft) flight, followed by a 1-km (0.62 mi) flight on May 6th, 2022. Unfortunately, the company experienced an accident during a 5 to 10 km (3 to 6.2 mi) test flight in September when a Nebula-1 first stage exploded while attempting to land. As the company stated in their infographic:
“In order 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. The improvement of rocket recovery technology will lay a solid foundation for Deep Blue Aerospace to promote suborbital travel projects and open a new chapter in human exploration of space.”
According to the company, the first high-altitude vertical recovery flight of Nebula-1’s first stage will take place in November 2024. This will be followed by the rocket’s first orbital reentry and recovery test in the first quarter of 2025 and multiple recovery and reuse tests throughout the year. The company intends to conduct dozens of tests using a fully stacked Nebula-1 rocket and crewed spacecraft in 2026. If all goes according to plan, the company will commence suborbital flights in 2027.
A side-by-side comparison of the SpaceX Dragon and Deep Blue Space space capsules.
Credit: SpaceX/Deep Blue Space
The infographic also previews what the launch vehicle and spacecraft will look like, which have some notable similarities to SpaceX and Blue Origin vehicles. For instance, the crew capsule strongly resembles the SpaceX’s Crew Dragon vehicle, which includes the launch abort system consistsing of eight thrusters distributed into four clusters. However, the Dragon space capsule has only two viewports, whereas the Nebula-1 reportedly has five (though eight can be seen in the infographic), which is more akin to Blue Origin’s New Shepard space capsule, which has six large viewports.
In addition, the Nebula-1 launch vehicle is also similar in design to the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. This includes the payload fairing, the chassis, the grid fins on the interstage 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 thrusters (which fire during takeoff) surrounding a single thruster used for landing. According to the rocket specifications, the Nebula-1 weighs 7,900 kg (8.7 U.S. tons) fully fueled and has a payload capacity to LEO of almost 2,000 kg (2.2 U.S. tons) – though they plan to increase this to 8,000 kg (8.8 U.S. tons)
The specs also note that the rocket has a maximum flight altitude of 100 to 150 km (62 to 93 mi) and can be reused a maximum of 50 times. This is a far cry from Falcon 9′s takeoff mass of 549,054 kg (605 U.S. tons) and a payload capacity of 22,000 kg (24.25 U.S. 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 has set the standard for rocket retrieval and reusability.
Meanwhile, the spacecraft reportedly measures 4 m (13 ft) in height and 3.5 m (11.5 ft) in diameter and can carry six passengers in a single flight. This is comparable to the New Shepard space capsule and falls just short of the Dragon’s capacity of up to 7 passengers. However, the inaugural flight will consist of three crewmembers spending a total of 12 minutes in flight and 5 minutes experiencing weightlessness. The rocket will fly to an altitude of 100 km (62 mi) – aka. the Karman Line, the official boundary between Earth and space. As the company indicated:
“During the suborbital flight of Deep Blue Spacecraft, passengers will experience much more than a brief weightlessness experience. They will experience the vastness and mystery of the universe and witness the magnificent landscape beyond the earth. This will be an all-round, multi-sensory space journey that will be unforgettable for a lifetime.”
Side-by-side comparison of the Nebula-1 and Falcon 9 rockets. Credit: Deep Blue Space/SpaceX
Per the pre-sale, two tickets are being offered for 1.5 million yuan, with a ticket deposit price of 50,000 yuan. This is equivalent to roughly $200,000 and $7,000, respectively. Presumably, the third seat will be occupied by Huo, who may be hoping to follow Branson and Bezos’ example by participating in the inaugural flight. The people purchasing the tickets will also receive a “1,000-yuan Cultural and Creative Gift Package” and a commemorative model of the Nebula-1 rocket. According to the infographic and statement, they will also be given the chance to view 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 evaluation, be 18 to 60 years old, and participate in pre-flight safety training a month before the flight. Because certain “technical details and specific information” will be revealed during the flight, passengers must also sign a confidentiality agreement. Additional details are provided on Deep Blue Aerospace’s Taobao official store page.
The company also plans to unveil the Nebula-2, a medium to heavy-lift launch vehicle powered by liquid oxygen and kerosene. This rocket will reportedly be capable of lifting payloads of up to 20,000 kg (22 U.S. tons) to LEO (comparable to the Falcon 9) and has an inaugural launch planned for late 2025.
Further Reading: Weixin