CAS Space’s Kinastra 1 advances toward maiden flight

CAS Space, a leading Chinese commercial space company, has completed a series of propulsion system tests for its Kinastra 1 upper stage, clearing the way for the vehicle's maiden flight in the first quarter of next year.

The Guangzhou-headquartered company, established by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said the Kinastra 1's 20-kilonewton engine passed boundary-condition tests in March, covering variable operating modes, mixture ratios and cooling percentages. The tests involved 18 ignitions and accumulated 481 seconds of total burn time.

A reliability test followed in July, during which the engine ran for a combined 2,906 seconds across multiple operating scenarios.

In August, the upper stage's full propulsion system completed its PV-001 integrated compatibility hot-fire test, marking a major system-level milestone that verified coordination and operational reliability across all subsystems. The test lasted 566 seconds, with stable performance across all units.

The recent test comprehensively validated the engine's pressurization, propellant feed, propellant management and servo control systems, CAS Space said.

Engineers also verified three crucial capabilities: the 20-kilonewton engine's high-thrust, high-performance multiple-restart capability; balanced propellant delivery from parallel tanks; and a highly reliable integrated electrical design.

The 20-kilonewton engine has now accumulated 5,211 seconds of total ignition time, according to CAS Space.

Described as a modular "space shuttle bus", the Kinastra 1 is equipped with a 20-kilonewton-thrust engine capable of more than 20 ignitions. It can autonomously plan orbital transfer paths, withstand the vacuum and extreme temperature fluctuations of spaceflight, and be adapted to various launch vehicles, according to engineers.

The Kinastra 1 is expected to serve as a key component of CAS Space's medium- and high-orbit and deep-space launch capabilities.

CAS Space currently operates two rocket models developed independently — the Kinetica 1 and Kinetica 2.

The Kinetica 1 has completed 15 launch missions, delivering a total of 110 satellites into orbit with an overall payload mass exceeding 16 metric tons. It is the only commercial rocket model in China to have launched more than 100 satellites.