Chinese commercial rocket company ExPace enters mass production phase with the country's first launch in 2024

ExPace Technology Corp., a Chinese state-owned rocket company based in Wuhan, has successfully sent four Tianmu-1 meteorological satellites into space from the country's Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on January 5, leveraging its Kuaizhou-1A launch vehicle. China's first rocket launch in 2024 also marks the basic completion of the Tianmu-1 meteorological constellation. According to the company, the launch last week also propelled it into a new phase marked by mass production and group launch. As the volume of orders gradually increased, ExPace adopted a new approach starting in 2022, characterized by the pre-production and early assembly of standardized rocket components, while the customized parts are only put into production after signing launch contracts. The Long March rocket family, originally based on the medium-range ballistic missile DF-3A and operated by the state-owned China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp., has long been the sole carrier of Chinese space launches since the early 1970s. Starting in 2019, CASC's subsidiary, China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, unveiled its Dragon family of solid-fueled launch vehicles. Together with the Kuaizhou family, it represents the Chinese state-owned sector's efforts to tap into the commercial launch industry.