The funding rounds have been fast and furious, with multiple funding rounds in both 20, including most recently in September 2021, coming ~6 weeks after the previous funding round. This makes Space Pioneer probably the most well-funded Chinese launch company to not have a website. The funds have come from several blue-chip investors, including Zhejiang University Innovation Fund, Jundu Investment, and multiple city governments. Over the company’s 2.5 years of existence, Space Pioneer has completed 7 funding rounds, of which at least 4 are claimed to be more than RMB 100M. The latter may refer to a request for proposals published by the Chinese crewed spaceflight agency in January 2021 for a low-cost cargo spacecraft for the Chinese Space Station. Similar to Landspace, Space Pioneer is focused on medium and heavy-lift liquid-fueled rockets, while a recent funding round also hinted at plans for a crewed spacecraft (空天往返载人飞船). The company founder, Kang Yonglai, is the former CTO of Landspace, arguably the leading “first generation” launch company. Space Pioneer was founded in April 2019, making them not yet 3 years old. World View has also unveiled its designs for a capsule that will fly passengers to the edge of space from 2024.Engine test fire taking place at Space Pioneer’s facilities (Credit: Space Pioneer) Pioneer Days of Space Pioneer Commercial flights are due to begin in late 2024. Space Perspective recently unveiled the world’s first ‘space lounge’, which will be lifted to the edge of space by a giant balloon. “It’s kind of like if you want to go see the Grand Canyon and you drive past it and come right back home.” OAC has “talked to pretty much everybody” in the industry about collaboration because “the one thing that all of these companies are missing is the destination”, Alatorre said. “We’re doing everything we can to make space accessible to everyone, not just the wealthy,” he said. OAC’s Voyager Station scheduled to open in 2027Īlatorre said space tourism won’t just be for billionaires like Blue Origin’s Jeff Bezos, SpaceX’s Elon Musk and Virgin Galactic’s Richard Branson. “There’s not wires everywhere, it’s a comfortable space where you feel at home,” he added. “It’s not going to be like you’re going to a factory or you’re going to a research facility,” Alatorre said.

The stations are furnished like luxury hotels and will be like a “sci-fi dream”.

Office spaces and research facilities will be available to rent on both stations, and Voyager Station and Pioneer will feature artificial gravity, so guests can eat and drink sitting down and shower. “It’s going to get us the opportunity to have people start to experience space on a larger scale, faster,” he added. “The goal has always been to make it possible for large amounts of people to live, work and thrive in space,” Tim Alatorre, Orbital Assembly’s chief operating officer told CNN Travel. Its smaller scale means it’s able to open to visitors sooner rather than later. It will hold up to 400 guests, whereas Pioneer can accommodate 28 people. OAC’s previously-announced Voyager Station is scheduled to open later in 2027. US-based space company Orbital Assembly Corporation (OAC) has announced a new space hotel concept called Pioneer that could open as early as 2025.

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