Founded in 2015 located in Beijing ….天兵科技 – 北京天兵科技有限公司Tianbing Technology is an Aerospace propulsion system supplier and spacecraft provider One of Sixty Plus Chinese carrier Rocket companies in China, People’s Republic of China ……. Tianbing Technology is an advanced aerospace propulsion system supplier and aerospace vehicle provider. Tianbing Technology independently develops the next-generation ambient temperature green HCP liquid propellant and minimalist aerospace propulsion system. As an upgraded product of traditional chemical propulsion system, it can meet cost-effective aerospace. Advance system supporting needs. The next-generation green HCP aerospace propulsion system, first tested by Tianbing Technology, can be used in the small-vehicle main power and launch vehicle upper-level propulsion system.
The commercial Tianlong-3 rocket has completed its most important ground test, and the giant constellation network will usher in powerful forces.
On September 15, 2025 (Beijing time), the Tianlong-3 carrier rocket successfully conducted a first-stage power system test (static ignition) on the HOS-1 semi-stationary offshore test platform at the Oriental Spaceport in Haiyang, Shandong Province. This full-system test verified the correctness of the design and coordinated operation of all first-stage systems. The test, which closely simulated the rocket’s actual flight conditions, demonstrated accurate engine start sequence, stable operation, and normal shutdown. All parameters obtained through comprehensive system drills met the performance requirements for the rocket’s maiden flight.
The launch vehicle propulsion system test is the most complex, challenging, and complex ground test during the development process. It is also the most crucial pre-flight test before the launch vehicle’s maiden flight. The successful launch of the first-stage propulsion system test marks the final sprint for the Tianlong-3 launch vehicle’s maiden flight.
It is expected to become China’s first 20-ton commercial rocket to achieve orbital launch.
Prior to this, China’s national space program had already fielded several medium-sized commercial launch vehicles, including the Long March 8, Long March 6A, Long March 12, and Long March 8A. However, their maximum low-Earth orbit (LEO) lift capacity remained at 12 tons. During the same period, China’s private commercial space companies fielded several medium-sized launch vehicles, including the Tianlong 2, Zhuque 2, and Yinli 1, each with a maximum LEO lift capacity of only 6.5 tons. As China embarks on large-scale network construction of its massive satellite constellation, facing the launch demands of tens of thousands of satellites, these medium-sized launch vehicles are only sufficient to meet the initial launch needs of this network. The market is demanding larger launch vehicles with greater lift capacity
The Tianlong-3 is a large cryogenic liquid-propellant carrier rocket independently developed by Beijing Tianbing Technology Co., Ltd., featuring a two-stage tandem configuration. The rocket’s first and second stages have diameters of 3.8 meters, with optional 4.2-meter and 5.2-meter diameter fairings. The rocket stands 72 meters tall (with the standard 4.2-meter diameter fairing). It has a takeoff mass of approximately 600 tons and a thrust of 840 tons, achieving a thrust-to-weight ratio of approximately 1.4. It can carry 17 to 22 tons to Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and 10 to 17 tons to a 500-kilometer Sun-synchronous Orbit (SSO).
Before the end of the year, the Tianlong-3 carrier rocket is expected to conduct its maiden orbital flight at Tianbing Technology’s self-built liquid rocket launch station in the Dongfeng Commercial Space Innovation Experimental Zone at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. If successful, the Tianlong-3 is expected to become China’s first 20-ton commercial rocket to achieve orbital flight. With its 20-ton near-Earth payload, the Tianlong-3 will be capable of launching 36 satellites on a single mission for the 240-kilogram Qianfan constellation’s first-generation satellite network.
Fully meet the “large capacity, high frequency, low cost” space launch needs..
Previously, China deployed the Long March 5B, the country’s most powerful carrier rocket currently in service, to launch a batch of low-Earth orbit satellites for the China StarNet constellation (China’s satellite internet constellation). While this rocket has a capacity of 25 tons in low-Earth orbit, it lacks the ability to provide high-frequency and low-cost launch services. For large-scale constellations, this is only suitable for short-term missions, and the primary launch vehicles must be sourced from other commercial launch vehicles, such as the Tianlong-3 and Suzaku-3
“Tianlong-3” is a large-scale reusable cryogenic liquid carrier rocket developed by Tianbing Technology with reference to the “Falcon 9”. The design concept and configuration method are highly similar. It adopts a single-core stage configuration with two stages in series. The first stage has nine launches in parallel to achieve power redundancy, and the first stage can be recovered and reused multiple times.
Reusability supports high-frequency launches. The Tianlong-3’s first stage is equipped with nine Tianhuo-12 (TH-12) liquid oxygen-kerosene engines. These engines utilize a gas generator cycle and pump-back swing. Each engine has a sea-level thrust of 93 tons, a sea-level specific impulse of 285 seconds, and a thrust-to-mass ratio of 163. They can achieve deep-thrust control from 50% to 110% and can be started four times per flight. The Tianhuo-12’s deep-thrust control and multiple-start capabilities are essential for the rocket’s recovery. Furthermore, the Tianlong-3’s first stage is equipped with grid rudders and landing legs, enabling precise vertical landing and recovery.
According to the design goal, after the first stage is recovered and returned to the factory, it can be put into the next launch after relatively simple maintenance. Compared with expendable rockets, reusable rockets can support a higher launch frequency with the same rocket production capacity. The “Tianlong-3” aims to achieve a launch frequency of more than 30 times per year. To ensure frequent launches, Tianbing Technology has built China’s first privately-owned liquid oxygen and kerosene rocket dedicated launch platform at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center and has begun planning and construction of a second dedicated launch platform.
Recycling and reuse enable “low-cost” launches. For a single-core launch vehicle with a two-stage tandem configuration, the first stage accounts for the majority of the rocket’s construction cost. Multiple recycling and reuse can significantly reduce the cost of a single launch, ultimately enabling the large-scale batch launches required for large-scale constellation networking at a low per-launch price.
With the advancement of space technology and the development of space resources, the demand for space launches is growing exponentially, a phenomenon currently primarily reflected in the planning and construction of low-orbit satellite constellations. Due to the limited and exclusive nature of Earth’s orbital resources, as well as the international allocation principles of “first come, first served” and “limited launch,” the construction of satellite constellations, especially large-scale low-orbit satellite constellations, demands ultra-large-scale launches, necessitating the continuous use of high-capacity rockets to achieve high-frequency launches at a manageable and moderate cost. This makes large-scale launch vehicles with “high capacity, high frequency, and low cost” a primary development goal for rocket developers, and the Tianlong-3 fully meets these requirements.
Build a highly reliable commercial rocket
On June 30, 2024, Tianbing Technology conducted a static ignition of the first stage of its Tianlong-3 carrier rocket, consisting of nine engines, at the Gongyi Comprehensive Test Center in Henan Province. During the test, the engine thrust reached 820 tons. However, due to a structural failure at the connection between the rocket body and the test stand, the first stage separated from the test stand and unexpectedly launched into space. The onboard computer subsequently shut down, and the rocket fell into a nearby mountain and disintegrated, resulting in a failed test. A review determined that a weak tail structure was the direct cause of the 630 test failure, reflecting the rocket’s design reliability. Reliability, which measures the success rate of rocket launches and is the prerequisite and foundation for the rocket’s continued and stable launch missions, was the direct cause of the failure.
Faced with the test failure, Tianbing Technology implemented 127 reliability improvement and growth measures, including the use of new materials to increase the safety factor of the connection structure to 1.5 times the industry standard, adding redundant restraint devices, adding eight ground safety shutdown methods, and jointly reviewing and recalculating 63 key technologies with third-party agencies, etc., to promote the rapid iteration of the “Tianlong 3” carrier rocket in “zeroing”, with the goal of becoming a cost-effective and highly reliable commercial carrier rocket.
Launching a launch vehicle is a highly challenging and risky production activity. Unlike vehicles used in general terrestrial production activities, which can be modified over time and achieve high reliability over a long period of time, launch vehicles with insufficient reliability designs are likely to experience frequent accidents and be unable to carry out continuous and stable launch missions. This leads to a lack of market confidence and difficulty in securing sufficient launch orders, ultimately making the corresponding rocket model and even the development company unsustainable. Currently, after several commercial rocket companies have experienced launch mission failures, rocket reliability has been placed in a more prominent position, and high reliability has become a prerequisite for commercial rockets.
Key technologies realize application innovation
The development of the Tianlong-3 rocket wasn’t simply based on foreign benchmark models; instead, it achieved innovative applications in key technologies. In its powertrain, the Tianlong-3 utilizes 3D printing technology on a large scale. Approximately 90% of the components of the Tianhuo-12 engine are printed in an integrated manner, significantly shortening the development cycle. The propellant utilizes coal-based aerospace kerosene, effectively reducing fuel costs. Combined with sulfur separation technology, this significantly improves engine coking and enhances the rocket’s reusability potential. Key subsystems utilize a triple-redundant computer independently developed by Tianbing Technology. By utilizing industrial-grade components, system costs are significantly reduced while ensuring high reliability.
In the new era of global space development, small and even medium-sized rockets are merely entry-level products for commercial rocket companies. Medium-sized to large and large reusable rockets, especially large reusable rockets, are the main products to be promoted, and they require comprehensive orbital capabilities. The second stage of the Tianlong-3 has a second-launch capability, enabling it to carry out launch missions into low, medium, and high Earth orbits. In low-orbit missions, it can carry out multi-satellite missions in different orbits. In medium- and high-orbit missions, it can send spacecraft into transfer orbits. With the addition of an upper stage, it can directly send satellites into medium and high orbits.
Overall, the “Tianlong-3” will be a rocket product with comprehensive capabilities that can meet market demand to a large extent. It will surely become a powerful general in China’s giant constellation networking!
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