China's Interstellor Leads Commercial Space Boom with Manned Flights
China's commercial space industry is booming, with companies like Interstellor leading the way. The company, headed by CEO Lei Shiqing, a journalism and communication graduate from Jinan University, is developing spacecraft for manned suborbital and orbital flights. Interstellor aims to revolutionize space tourism, with plans to launch its first manned suborbital flights in the next few years.
Interstellor, based in Beijing, is working on core solutions for manned suborbital and orbital flights. These include high-precision autopilot technology for comfortable suborbital flights, AI-driven trajectory planning for heavy fuel rockets, and an innovative emergency escape system. The company has signed a partnership with a leading Chinese commercial rocket company to develop suborbital manned systems.
The global commercial space tourism market has taken off, with Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin launching their spacecraft in 2021. Interstellor's suborbital space flights are expected to cost around RMB 3 million per ticket, carrying seven passengers each. This follows SpaceX's Crew Dragon conducting its first manned flight in May 2020, marking a significant milestone in commercial manned space technology.
As China enters the 3.0 era of commercial manned space flights, Interstellor is poised to become a major player in the global space tourism market. With its advanced technology and partnerships, the company is set to offer suborbital and eventually orbital flights to tourists, further democratizing access to space.
