Chinese startup Orienspace launches first sea-based rocket

A Chinese space startup launched its first rocket from a marine platform in the Yellow Sea, intensifying a race among local companies attempting to compete with foreign firms such as Elon Musk’s SpaceX.

Gravity-1, a mid-sized rocket made by Beijing-based Orienspace, took off from a ship near the coast of the northeastern city of Haiyang at 1:30 p.m. local time and sent three satellites into orbit, according to state media.

The mission is the ninth sea-based launch in China, which is alone among top space-faring nations in making marine launches a major part of a strategy to access space. 

The launch was a “complete success,” Orienspace said in a statement on social media platform WeChat. “China’s sea launch and solid launch vehicle technology has reached a new level.”

The three satellites sent to orbit were developed by Chang Guang Satellite Technology Co. and will be used for meteorological analysis, weather forecasting and disaster warning.

Water launches can offer more flexibility to operators, reducing risks from rocket debris, Orienspace’s co-Chief Executive Officer Yao Song said at an aerospace conference in April, according to state media. The Gravity-1 rocket “will significantly reduce the cost of commercial space launches,” he said.

Orienspace didn’t respond to requests for comments.

One of Orienspace’s top competitors, Beijing-based Galactic Energy Aerospace Technology Co., was the first Chinese startup to conduct an offshore mission, launching its Ceres-1 rocket in September from a platform off the coast of Shandong province in China’s northeast.

A Long March rocket, made by the state-owned China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, last month launched off the coast of southern China.  

Founded in 2020, Orienspace had raised around $150 million from investors including Sequoia China and Matrix Partners China by 2022, according to the company.