THE large reusable carrier rocket Tianlong-3 completed a 36-satellite separation test last week at its intelligent manufacturing base in Zhangjiagang, Jiangsu Province, its developer Space Pioneer announced Monday.

The test marks a major breakthrough for China's commercial aerospace industry, further validating the liquid-propellant model’s capacity to launch multiple satellites simultaneously — a critical capability for the country’s satellite internet infrastructure.

Primarily tailored to China's low-orbit constellation missions, the rocket has a diameter of 3.8 meters, a total length of 72 meters, and a liftoff mass of about 600 tons. It is capable of sending a payload of 17 to 22 tons to low Earth orbit and 10 to 17 tons to sun-synchronous orbit, making it comparable to SpaceX’s Falcon 9.

The Beijing-based private aerospace firm has established an integrated industrial chain connecting all stages of rocket development, from R&D and large-scale manufacturing to dedicated launch facilities, with key hubs in cities including Beijing, Xi’an, Gongyi, Suzhou, and Jiuquan.

The company has achieved an initial annual production capacity of 30 Tianlong-3 rockets and 500 TH-series LOX/Kerosene rocket engines. It aims to conduct the maiden flight of the Tianlong-3 launch vehicle by the end of this year and expects to progressively support over 60 launch missions annually.

Tianlong-3 faces competition from other Chinese rockets such as LandSpace’s Zhuque-3 and the State-owned Long March-12A, all of which feature a Falcon 9-style design with reusable first stages.(SD-Agencies)