China rocket startups effort on bringing outer space within easy reach

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01:52

A number of Chinese startups are racing to go where no man has gone before by developing rockets and commercializing outer space technology.

The Chinese startup Ispace has successfully sent two independently developed rockets into space since the company was founded in 2016. Ispace plans to send a bigger rocket into orbit this summer. The company's assistant president Yao Bowen said confidently that the successful rate of the upcoming rocket is above 90 percent based on current estimates.

Meanwhile, Yao said that Ispace aims to make rocket launches more reliable and cargo transportation more affordable for the public. "Now the market price per kilogram is maybe 20 thousand U.S. dollars for now. In the future, we want to price as low as possible. Maybe the half, maybe the quarter," he added.

The company has raised about 700 million yuan in a series of fundings. Yao said the outlook is promising with big demand in the future, especially for low-cost micro-satellites with commercial applications. But first things first-reliability. China's rocket sector has been rattled recently as two rockets launched by private firms have failed in the past five months.

"We just want to make our rockets more reliable. The success rate should go up more and more to one hundred percent. That is our aim, destination. I think it is the destination for all rocket enterprises," Yao cited.

The number of private rocket startups in China has increased rapidly in the past 3 years. The sector is still in its infancy but investors are racing to participate in its commercialization, hoping to bring outer space within easy reach for everyone.