Watch the Launch

Demo Flight

Overview

Destination: Sun-Synchronous Orbit
Mission: Test Flight

Sun-Synchronous Orbit Launch Area 120 Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

First launch of the Tianlong-2 and first launch for the Chinese private company Space Pioneer. It carried a dummy payload and the iTaikong Science cubesat to SSO for technology demonstration and public outreach Earth observation purposes.

Updates

Cosmic_Penguin • April 2, 2023, 9:27 a.m.

Launch success.


Cosmic_Penguin • March 31, 2023, 9:11 a.m.

Rescheduled for April 2 per new NOTAMs.


Cosmic_Penguin • March 30, 2023, 2:45 p.m.

Launch apparently delayed with related NOTAMs cancelled.


Cosmic_Penguin • March 30, 2023, 12:42 p.m.

Launch window extended.


Cosmic_Penguin • March 28, 2023, 4:06 p.m.

Launch delayed per NOTAM cancellation and insider rumors.


Tianlong-2

Family:
Configuration:

Tianlong-2 is a medium-sized, 3 stage rocket powered by RP-1 and liquid oxygen, with payload capability of 2 tonnes to LEO and 1.5 tonnes to SSO. Tianlong-2 has a liftoff weight of 150 tonnes, liftoff thrust of 190 tonnes and initially uses 3 YF-102 expander cycle RP-1/LOX engines on the first stage each with a thrust of 63.3 metric tonnes. The second stage uses 1 TH-11 staged combustion RP-1/LOX with a thrust of 30.6 metric tonnes. 7 TH-11 engines will be used for the 1st stage of subsequent vehicles. The third stage uses 1 TH-31 NTO/MMH hypergolic fuel engine with 3000 N thrust and 8 x 150 N RCS thrusters. The Tianlong-2 is the first Chinese RP-1-fueled private orbital rocket to attempt an orbital flight.

Specifications
  • Stages
    3
  • Length
    32.8 m
  • Diameter
    3.35 m
  • Fairing Diameter
    3.35 m
  • Launch Mass
    150.0 T
  • Thrust
    1863.0 kN
Family
  • Name
    Tianlong-2
  • Family
  • Variant
  • Alias
  • Full Name
    Tianlong-2
Payload Capacity
  • Launch Cost
  • Low Earth Orbit
    2000.0 kg
  • Geostationary Transfer Orbit
  • Direct Geostationary
  • Sun-Synchronous Capacity
    1500.0 kg

Space Pioneer

Space Pioneer

(SP)

CEO: Kang Yonglai Founded: 2015 Successes: 1 Failures: 0 Pending: 0

Agency Type:

Space Pioneer is a Chinese private space launch company based in Beijing. It was founded in 2015 by Kang Yonglai.

WIKI

Related News

SpaceNews

China’s Space Pioneer reaches orbit with liquid propellant rocket

Space Pioneer has become the first Chinese private launch firm to achieve orbit with a liquid propellant rocket.

SpaceNews

China’s Space Pioneer reaches orbit with liquid propellent rocket

Space Pioneer has become the first Chinese private launch firm to achieve orbit with a liquid propellant rocket.

Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

Launch Area 120


Long March 3
Success
2 days, 21 hours ago
WHG-03
Launch Complex 2 (LC-2) - Xichang Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

Chinese communication satellite with name meaning "Satellite Internet - High Orbit Satellite 03" in Chinese. Details TBD.


Falcon 9
Success
5 days, 20 hours ago
Hera
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA

Hera is a space mission in development at the European Space Agency in its Space Safety program. Its primary objective is to study the Didymos binary…


Vulcan VC2S
Success
1 week, 1 day ago
Certification Flight 2
Space Launch Complex 41 - Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA

Replacement Vulcan test launch with inert payload, experiments, and demonstrations for certification with the USSF after delays caused by payload tes…


Falcon 9
Success
2 weeks ago
Crew-9
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA

SpaceX Crew-9 is the ninth crewed operational flight of a Crew Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station as part of NASA's Commercial Crew…


Long March 2D
Success
2 weeks, 2 days ago
Shijian 19
Launch Area 4 (SLS-2 / 603) - Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

Shijian 19 is a Chinese recoverable satellite for hoisting various scientific experiments in microgravity. Unlike previous similar Chinese satelli…


H-IIA
Success
2 weeks, 3 days ago
IGS Radar 8
Yoshinobu Launch Complex LP-1 - Tanegashima Space Center, Japan

The IGS Radar 8 is a Japanese radar reconnaissance satellite. The satellite is operated by the Cabinet Satellite Information Center. The satellite se…


Falcon 9
Success
2 weeks, 4 days ago
Starlink Group 9-8
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

A batch of 20 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Kinetica 1
Success
2 weeks, 4 days ago
5 satellites
Launch Area 130 - Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

Carried 5 satellites to Sun-synchronous orbit: * Zhongke-01/02 * Jilin-1 SAR-01A * Yunyao-21/22


Smart Dragon 3
Success
2 weeks, 5 days ago
8 satellites
Haiyang Spaceport - Sea Launch

Carried 8 satellites to a 500 km Sun-synchronous orbit: * Tianyi-41 * Luojia 4-01 * Fudan-1 * Tianyan-15 * Jitianxing A-01 * Xingshidai-15/21…


Electron
Success
3 weeks, 1 day ago
Kinéis Killed the RadIoT Star (Kinéis 6-10)
Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1A - Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand

Second batch of five satellites for the French Kinéis IoT constellation designed to operate with 25 nanosatellites of 30 kg each.