FPI / March 21, 2025
By Richard Fisher
China’s state-owned and government subsidized “private” space sector has taken great liberties in trying to copy the pioneering concepts of Elon Musk’s SpaceX corporation, in particular the SpaceX innovation of reusable medium and heavy space launch vehicles (SLVs).
From an early 2025 image, China’s “private” space company “AZSpace” plans to develop a manned space capsule, to be developed from an AZSpace suborbital space tourism capsule on the right, very similar to the SpaceX Crew Dragon. / ZspaceNow, one Chinese private space company is copying the SpaceX manned Crew Dragon space capsule.
Elon Musk’s SpaceX Crew Dragon essentially saved the United States space program from its utter reliance on Russia’s Soyuz manned spaceships for shuttling U.S. astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS).
From the last U.S. Space Shuttle flight to the ISS in 2011 to the first U.S. SpaceX Crew Dragon flight to the ISS in 2020, about 156 Americans reached the ISS via a ride on a Russian Soyuz.
Apart from the Boeing Starliner, that could not return its two U.S. astronauts from a September 2024 mission to the ISS, four Crew Dragon ships (Endeavor, Resilience, Endurance, Freedom) have made 17 flights to the ISS.
In addition, three cargo-only versions of the Crew Dragon have made about 11 flights to the ISS, while an earlier SpaceX Dragon-1 cargo ship made 20 flights to the ISS between 2010 and 2020.
But perhaps one of the most important features of the Crew and Cargo Dragons is that they have been designed for cost-reducing reusability, having made 29 “total reflights” according to the SpaceX web page.
Now it appears that the Chinese “private” company AZSpace, founded in 2019, is following the path set by SpaceX in developing unmanned cargo and then manned spacecraft.
On a company brochure, AZSpace describes itself as “a technology company that focuses on spacecraft and space tourism, including the design, manufacturing and flight operations of spacecraft.”
On Dec. 17, 2023, it launched its first 10-kilogram capable DEAR-1 (Discovery Exploration Advanced Recovery) recoverable space capsule, followed by the DEAR-3 mission on Dec. 27, 2024.
Full Report . . . . Current Edition . . . . Subscription Information
China not shy about copying SpaceX crew Dragon capsule added by Editor Two on March 21, 2025
View all posts by Editor Two →
Source link