PH-1 test flight advances Chinese reusable suborbital spacecraft plans

by Riko Seibo
Tokyo, Japan (SPX) Jan 13, 2026

A Chinese suborbital spacecraft designed for reusable operations and future space tourism has completed a key test flight, marking a new step in the country's commercial space ambitions.

The vehicle, designated PH-1, is developed by Beijing-based commercial aerospace company CAS Space and is intended to support low cost scientific experiments in microgravity as well as pave the way for passenger carrying flights. The latest mission took place on Monday from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on the edge of the Gobi Desert in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region.

PH-1 lifted off at about 4 pm local time and flew a suborbital trajectory that reached an altitude of roughly 120 kilometers, crossing the Karman line that is widely regarded as the boundary between Earth's atmosphere and outer space. After completing the upward phase of its mission profile, the vehicle descended back through the atmosphere toward its planned recovery zone.

During the flight the recoverable payload cabin separated from the booster at an altitude of about 70 kilometers and continued to climb on inertia before beginning its return. As it re entered denser layers of the atmosphere, the cabin deployed a parachute at around 10 kilometers above the ground and then carried out a controlled descent to a designated landing site.

CAS Space reported that the test validated a series of reusable spacecraft technologies, including re entry deceleration, parachute based recovery and precision landing control of the payload cabin. Engineers also monitored and assessed the performance of critical subsystems and components throughout the ascent, microgravity phase and descent segments of the flight.

According to the company, the mission demonstrated that PH-1 can provide a stable microgravity environment lasting more than 300 seconds, a duration that is difficult to match with ground based facilities. The unpowered payload cabin's flight profile is designed specifically to maximize the time available for experiments in reduced gravity conditions.

The payload for this test included an experimental laser based 3D printer intended to operate in microgravity, allowing researchers to investigate space based additive manufacturing processes. The mission also carried rose seeds that had previously been exposed to spaceflight aboard another spacecraft, supporting ongoing work in space based plant breeding.

Shi Xiaoning, the spacecraft's chief designer and project manager at CAS Space, said PH-1 is primarily intended to provide suborbital research services at relatively low cost. He noted that the vehicle can deliver minute level microgravity conditions that are more sustained and higher quality than those typically available from drop towers or parabolic aircraft flights.

Shi highlighted potential applications such as space based plant breeding, biomedical research and materials science investigations that benefit from extended periods of microgravity. He added that once the technologies involved reach sufficient maturity, similar spacecraft could be adapted for suborbital space tourism, allowing passengers to experience brief periods of weightlessness.

The PH-1 design emphasizes reusability, flexible mission profiles and efforts to reduce launch costs in the commercial market, according to CAS Space. The company plans to evolve the recoverable payload cabin into orbital grade spacecraft that could remain in orbit for up to one year, be reused around 10 times and support in orbit manufacturing activities.

China's commercial space sector has expanded quickly in recent years, with both state affiliated contractors and private enterprises pursuing reusable rockets and spacecraft. Several companies have already conducted test flights of reusable launch vehicles as part of broader efforts to lower space access costs and strengthen China's position in the global space industry.