Beijing Interstellor Human Spaceflight Technology Co., Ltd (hereinafter referred to as InterstellOr) recently completed a 30 million RMB Angel Round financing. This round was exclusively invested by the renowned domestic leading venture capital firm QF Capital. As a professional angel investment institution, QF Capital has successfully backed several enterprises with a market capitalization of tens of billions, such as Pop Mart, Gaotu Thechedu, and Piesat. This investment in InterstellOr marks QF Capital's largest single angel round investment of the year. The financing will be used to produce the escape structure ship (CYZ1-00) for suborbital manned spacecraft (CYZ1), with plans to establish the first commercial environment control and life support manned test base. It aims to complete the zero-altitude escape flight test to verify the core technologies related to passenger safety, including the new escape system, innovative parachute design, and the structural stability for reuse.
Mr. Fu Zhekuan, Chairman of QF Capital, the investor in this round, states that commercial spacecraft represent the industry of the future. They have broad development prospects in fields such as manned spaceflight, space cargo transportation, space tourism, as well as ground-based cultural tourism and wellness industries. It is one of the rare commercial aerospace sectors capable of monetization through toC models.
Currently, InterstellOr is the only private commercial aerospace company in the field of commercial spacecraft with a professional manned spacecraft solution. The team consists of professionals in manned spacecraft technology and cultural tourism, making it a well-rounded and excellent team. Founder Ms. Lei’s commercial acumen, execution, and learning abilities are also impressive, making her one of the outstanding founders in the field.
Lei Shiqing, founder and CEO of Beijing Interstellor Human Spaceflight Technology Co., Ltd., holds a master’s degree in applied psychology from Renmin University of China. Specializing in human factors engineering in manned spaceflight. Lei has conducted in-depth understanding and research into commercial manned spaceflight and its applications. InterstellOr’s first ticket was for space trip was sold in November 2023, priced at 3 million RMB, with a 10% reservation fee. Currently, nearly 10 tickets have been pre-sold, with customers all over the world. At the same time, the company plans to establish a community for space tourists and develop a series of experience programs on the ground. It will include aerospace wellness and aerospace training, aiming to create a ‘Disneyland’ of the aerospace industry.
Commercial aerospace industry in China has been booming since 2015, catching up with international advancements. Following the development path of satellites, rockets, and spacecraft, there are now numerous domestic companies directly competing with international counterparts, such as Starlink and Falcon 9. However, the ‘SpaceX Dragon’ is still seldom touched. Since 2020, the ‘Dragon’ spacecraft has undertaken various manned space exploration tasks for both national and commercial sectors. Its reusability and commercial nature have significantly reduced the cost of sending people to space, accelerating the process of Americans reaching space.
In terms of suborbital space tourism, Blue Origin has already sent 47 ordinary people into space, while Virgin Galactic has nearly 1,000 reservations. It is reported that these three American companies have not only achieved regular space tourism operations but are also accelerating upgrades to their manned spacecraft to meet the rapidly growing customer demand.
According to data from institutions such as Grand View Research, the Asia-Pacific region is the fastest-growing market for space tourism, with China holding the largest share of the market. The compound annual growth rate from 2024 to 2030 is expected to be 45.1%. Among these, high-net-worth individuals, as one of the main drivers of growth, exhibit strong willingness to gain new experiences and the ability to pay, which presents the enormous market potential.
Manned spacecraft is a significant ‘domestic substitution’ project in commercial aerospace, and as the only toC direction in the commercial aerospace sector, InterstellOr has brought a market-driven incremental space to the entire industry. This represents a new engine and new business model for the space economy, following satellites and rockets. It leads the new track of commercial aerospace. And with a trillion-level market increment space, it will provide enormous opportunities for local economy and industry clusters, making it a key strategic direction for realizing the space economy. Therefore, both the central and local governments have introduced relevant policies to encourage the cultivation and development of space tourism.
InterstellOr, founded in January 2023, is China’s first commercial ‘manned spaceflight technology’ company, focusing on the development of reusable manned spacecraft and space tourism operations. This marks the beginning of China’s commercial manned spaceflight industry. InterstellOr is committed to creating China’s ‘Dragon’, aiming to provide low-cost transportation of people and cargo for both the national and commercial purposes. The plan is to first complete the development of a reusable suborbital spacecraft in 3 to 4 years, with the goal of achieving space tourism in China and Asia by 2028, opening a new era regular space travel for ordinary people and commercial payloads with a low cost.
InterstellOr One (CYZ1) suborbital manned spacecraft
CYZ1 suborbital spacecraft request for extremely high standard of manufacture. With the foundation of 100% successful manned spaceflight engineering system in China for more than 30 years, InterstellOr has assembled the only comprehensive team in China with the capability for full-spectrum, full-process development, research, and operation of commercial manned spaceflight.
The development process of a manned spacecraft generally includes the concept phase, prototype phase, and final model phase. After over a year of concept validation, the development team has completed the validation of the overall configuration, escape system, aerodynamic shape, flight trajectory, return capsule seal structure, escape capsule structure, recovery system, flight control, high-pressure cold gas propulsion system, integrated electronics, environmental control and life support, and human factors engineering designs. In collaboration with leading domestic rocket companies, the team has also conducted validation for suborbital flight launch vehicle plans, as well as launch and recovery site plans. The feasibility study report for the InterstellOr One (CYZ1) suborbital spacecraft has passed the review by domestic academicians and experts. Several technical achievements have been selected for the 2024 China Manned Spaceflight Academic Conference, covering all seven sub-forums related to suborbital manned spaceflight. The first spacecraft (CYZ1-00) is about to be produced, with plans to officially enter the engineering development stage in December.
Standing on the shoulders of giants, InterstellOr incorporates excellent foreign design ideas, focusing on user-centered approaches to create a safer, more comfortable, and lower-cost manned spacecraft. Through innovative spacecraft configuration design and reusable designs for key systems such as escape, structure, and recovery, Transcender has defined key technologies, including:
Full reusability technology
Push-type escape rescue technology
High-precision, high-comfort re-entry, return, and non-destructive landing recovery technology
Environmental control and life support, and complex human factors engineering technology
Overall design technology for reusable suborbital manned spacecraft
Flight control technology
Structural design.
As China’s first suborbital reusable commercial manned spacecraft, CYZ1 is the first to adopt advanced push-type escape technology. It will also be the world’s first blunt-body manned spacecraft capable of high-precision return and non-destructive landing recovery at the 100 meter level.
Some of the design results are as follows：
The aerodynamic shape optimization design of the return capsule based on high-order nonlinear curve clusters.
The reusable escape system plan.
The ability to offer different flight plans and trajectories tailored to passenger needs.
The manned sealed cabin structure and large-size porthole design.
The 1:1 ground simulation test cabin, oxygen supply components, and rapid leak detection system for the environmental control and life support system.
The high-pressure cold gas propulsion system nozzle for the Transcender One (CYZ1) suborbital manned spacecraft has been finalized.
It is reported that China’s manned lunar exploration project has recently fully entered the prototype development stage, with plans to achieve China’s first manned lunar landing by 2030. InterstellOr’s development plan is roughly synchronized with the manned lunar landing mission. The CYZ1 has officially entered the engineering development stage, with the production and development of the prototype spacecraft underway. The plan is to complete the zero-altitude escape flight test of the spacecraft in 2025, the first unmanned suborbital flight test in 2026, and the development plan for the first commercial manned flight by 2028.
InterstellOr has established a ‘three-step’ development plan:
Stage One: In 3 to 4 years, achieve a suborbital reusable commercial manned spacecraft, CYZ1, opening a new era of regular space travel for ordinary people and commercial payloads with low cost.
Stage Two: In 6 to 10 years, launch a near-Earth orbit reusable commercial manned spacecraft, InterstellOr Two (CYZ2), and achieve rendezvous and docking with target spacecraft, as well as point-to-point transportation. This will be applied to space hotel construction and intercontinental rapid transportation, revolutionizing long-distance travel methods.
Stage Three: In 12 to 15 years, achieve a deep space exploration reusable commercial manned spacecraft, InterstellOr Three (CYZ3), conducting commercial manned lunar travel and building a Earth-Moon economic sphere.