Using the measure of cost per kilogram of payload capacity, CAS Space compares its Kinetica-2 to a US reusable rocket
2-MIN READ2-MIN ListenVictoria BelaPublished: 10:00pm, 1 Apr 2026China’s commercial space sector has reached a cost milestone as its new rocket debuts for less than the ticket price of the latest SpaceX Falcon 9 reusable launch vehicle.The Kinetica-2 Y1 carrier rocket, also known as the Lijian-2 Y1, took off on its inaugural flight on Monday before delivering three satellites into orbit, including a prototype commercial cargo spacecraft and a satellite to function as a mini-orbiting space lab.
It cost 30,000 yuan (US$4,350) per kilogram of payload capacity to launch the Kinetica-2, according to Yang Haoliang, the firm’s vice-president and chief commander of the rocket.
Chinese start-up starts taking advance bookings for its first commercial space flight
Chinese start-up starts taking advance bookings for its first commercial space flightYang said on Monday that the craft’s current non-reusable launch cost was about the same as Elon Musk’s SpaceX Falcon 9 reusable rocket at US$5,000 per kg, according to Star Market Daily, a financial news subsidiary of the state-owned Shanghai Media Group.
