CAS Space Launches Kinetica-2 Rocket with Three Boosters for the First Time

A few hours before the launch of Artemis II in early April (now concluded), there was a significant launch for the Chinese aerospace industry that preceded that of the reusable Tianlong-3 rocket by Space Pioneer by a few days. This marks the debut of the CAS Space Kinetica-2 rocket, also known as Lijian-2, abbreviated as LJ-2.

🚀 CAS-SPACE Kinetica-2 Y1

— CNSPACE (@CNSpaceflight) March 31, 2026

This solution is unique because, while being a medium launch vehicle, it employs a three-booster structure for the first stage in the intermediate configuration. The launch took place at 1:00 PM on March 30 (Italian time) from the Jiuquan spaceport, where many experimental launches or launches with particularly sensitive objectives occur. In the future, the Chinese space program will mostly be conducted from the Wenchang spaceport (including missions to the Moon).

According to reports, the three payloads contained within the fairings successfully reached the planned orbit. Among them, the most important was a prototype of the commercial cargo spacecraft Qingzhou from CAS Space (which in this mission took the name Xinzhengcheng 02). Inside were 27 projects with a total payload just over a ton, and tests will be conducted at altitudes ranging from 200 km to 600 km.

This solution, along with others emerging in the market, will be important for resupplying the Chinese Tiangong space station, allowing a shift in the dynamics of contracts for the Chinese launch and supply market, somewhat similar to what happened in the USA with the debut of SpaceX's Dragon capsules.

The CAS Space Kinetica-2 rocket stands 53 meters tall with a diameter of 3.35 meters per booster. The launch mass is 625 tons while the engines provide a total thrust of 753 tons. The specifications report a capacity to carry up to 8 tons of payload in a sun-synchronous orbit at 500 kilometers and 12 tons in LEO.

The launch of the Kinetica-2 rocket seen with a DJI Avata 360 drone.

The ability to use identical boosters allows for flexibility in launching to adapt to the mission. In fact, Kinetica-2 can have just a single booster, utilize a total of three boosters, and ultimately the most powerful configuration with five total boosters (which increases performance to 20 tons in LEO). For satellites intended for GEO orbits, there will instead be an optional stage called Kinastra-1.

Yang Haoliang (head of the project) stated, "the Lijian-2 rocket marks a new milestone in the development of China's next-generation space cargo transport system." The company is also considering introducing reusable vehicles, with the first tests occurring on the smaller and simpler Kinetica-1 before adapting the hardware to Kinetica-2.