CAS Space's Lihong-1 Y1 Completes Successful Recoverable Suborbital Test Flight in China

Successful Suborbital Test Flight Achieved

A commercial recoverable spacecraft, designated Lihong-1 Y1, successfully completed its suborbital flight test mission on Monday, January 12, 2026, in northwest China. The mission, conducted by the Chinese commercial aerospace enterprise CAS Space, saw the spacecraft launch from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center.

The test flight demonstrated crucial technologies for future space endeavors. Using a parachute-recovery system, the recoverable payload capsule landed safely and was retrieved. This successful recovery verified the re-entry deceleration and the functionality of the recoverable payload module, alongside showcasing precision landing-control technology for the spacecraft's sub-stage.

Paving the Way for Space Tourism and Scientific Research

The Lihong-1 Y1 spacecraft reached an approximate altitude of 120 kilometers, briefly crossing the Kármán line, the internationally recognized boundary of space. This suborbital trajectory provided minutes of microgravity before re-entering the atmosphere. According to CAS Space, this achievement is a significant step in developing future space tourism activities.

The spacecraft is designed with several key features:

• Low launch costs and high flexibility.
• Capability to provide a highly stable and multi-functional experimental environment lasting more than 300 seconds.
• Designed for multiple reuses.

Shi Xiaoning, chief designer and project commander of Lihong-1, highlighted the spacecraft's role in scientific advancement. The mission carried several experimental payloads, including:

• Chinese rose seed samples, exposed to cosmic radiation for gene mutation studies. Scientists will cultivate these seeds to develop new rose varieties and establish an aerospace rose germplasm bank.
• Microgravity laser additive manufacturing equipment, developed by the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Institute of Mechanics, to test material behavior during 3D printing in space.

Future Developments and Commercial Ambitions

CAS Space has outlined ambitious plans for the Lihong series. Extensive tests are underway to integrate crew-life-support and high-reliability escape technologies. These advancements are expected to boost low-cost suborbital scientific experiment capabilities and commercial space tourism.

Wang Yingcheng, deputy chief designer, stated that the company plans to upgrade the reentry capsule into an orbital-class spacecraft. This future version would be capable of staying in space for over one year and have a reuse cycle of at least 10 flights. The Lihong series is also intended to serve as a space laboratory for research on microgravity and radiation, contributing to China's crewed lunar and deep-space goals. The company envisions a 'theme-park-style operation' with ten vehicles in rotational service, offering suborbital flights with an observation pod for seven passengers and up to three minutes of weightlessness.