Private sector actively competing for involvement in China's space station, manned lunar missions

JIUQUAN, Oct. 25 (Xinhua) -- China's private space enterprises are hopeful that commercial rockets developed by them will be involved in the launch missions of the low-cost cargo transport vehicle for the country's space station, announced a senior official with the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) at a press conference on Wednesday.

In proposals provided by space enterprises for China's space station low-cost cargo transport system program, many enterprises chose the plans developed by private commercial space rocket companies, said Lin Xiqiang, deputy director of the CMSA.

The transport capacity of these commercial rockets ranges from 4 tonnes to 6 tonnes, with very high comprehensive cost performance. They are expected to participate in the next phase of commercial procurement, he added.

Five state-owned enterprises and four private commercial companies submitted a total of 10 proposals for the cargo transport system program. After evaluation, four proposals entered the design stage.

Lin also mentioned that after the CMSA had solicited proposals for the manned lunar rover, many universities, automobile enterprises and scientific research institutions in China had jointly set up teams to carry out design work.

A total of 14 teams, formed by more than 40 enterprises, research institutes and universities, submitted proposals and 11 teams have passed the first-round review for further evaluation.

The CMSA is very happy to see that China's private commercial space companies are developing rapidly, and are actively participating in manned space missions, he added.