What Happened
Commercial Firms To Support Low-Cost Space Station Resupply Missions
China has shortlisted four commercial launch providers, including Galactic Energy, CAS Space, OrienSpace, and Landspace, to support the launch of its new Qingzhou cargo spacecraft. The spacecraft, developed by the Innovation Academy for Microsatellites of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, is scheduled to launch in January 2027 and will provide supplies to the Tiangong space station. The move signals China’s growing ambitions in autonomous and scalable on-orbit operations, and the shortlisting of commercial firms suggests a growing role in China’s national space development ambitions, as reported by SpaceNews.