Watch the Launch

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 29, 2023, 10:35 a.m.

Apparently rescheduled to March 31, different launch window per new NOTAMs.


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: 1 Pending: 0

Agency Type:

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

INFO WIKI
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 12
Success
2 hours, 14 minutes ago
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Commercial LC-2 - Wenchang Space Launch Site, People's Republic of China

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Soyuz 2.1b/Fregat-M
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Glonass-K1? (Kosmos 2621?)
43/3 (43L) - Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russian Federation

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Falcon 9
Success
1 day, 21 hours ago
USSF-432
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

A classified mission for the United States Space Force. It is possibly a batch of classified LEO satellites based on SpaceX’s Starshield satellite bu…


Ceres-2
Success
1 day, 23 hours ago
4 satellites
Launch Area 95A - Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

Share-ride of 4 commercial Earth observation and technology demonstration satellites to SSO, details TBD.


Long March 2C
Success
3 days, 6 hours ago
Yaogan 51-07 to 09
Launch Complex 3 (LC-3/LA-1) - Xichang Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

3 Chinese military “remote sensing” satellite of unknown purposes.


Kinetica 2
Success
5 days, 22 hours ago
SpaceSail Polar Group #17
Launch Area 140 - Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

18 Low Earth Orbit communication satellites with Ku, Q and V band payloads for the G60 constellation operated by Shanghai Spacesail Technologies with…


Electron
Success
6 days, 5 hours ago
The Sea God Surveys (iQPS Launch 9)
Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1A - Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand

Synthetic aperture radar Earth observation satellite for Japanese Earth imaging company iQPS.


Falcon 9
Success
1 week, 1 day ago
Starlink Group 15-18
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

A batch of 27 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


GSLV Mk II
Success
1 week, 2 days ago
IRNSS-1L (NVS-03)
Satish Dhawan Space Centre Second Launch Pad - Satish Dhawan Space Centre, India

This is a replacement satellite for the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System. The constellation will provide India with an alternative to GPS …


Falcon 9
Success
1 week, 5 days ago
Starlink Group 15-16
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

A batch of 27 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.