A Chinese private rocket manufacturer has established a foothold in the industry by pioneering innovative solutions to low-cost commercial space launches.
Founded just seven years ago, Galactic Energy has already achieved 19 successful launches, deploying 81 satellites for 25 clients - a record that makes it China's first private firm to achieve successive launch successes.
This remarkable achievement is fueled by radical engineering ingenuity. Galactic Energy has applied 3D printing technology into rocket engine manufacturing, slashing costs while improving efficiency.
"Traditional engines have a long manufacturing cycle and high costs. It takes about six months to make one. Now, by adopting a 3D printing solution, we've shortened the production cycle to less than one month, and the cost is only around 6,000 or 7,000 yuan, nearly one-tenth of the original cost. The weight is also reduced by half," said Liu Baiqi, founder and CEO of the company.
In addition, the Beijing-based firm has also made a bold design of a four-stage integrated rocket that is not divided into different sections, so as to reduce its weight.
"By removing sections from this structure, we reduced its weight by 75 kilograms. That means an extra 75 kilograms of payload capacity. At a typical rate of 100,000 yuan (about 14,000 U.S. dollars) per kilogram, carrying 75 kilograms more satellites generates an additional 7.5 million yuan per launch," Liu said.
Another striking innovation of the Galactic Energy addresses the problem of space debris. Rather than letting spent rocket parts become orbital junk, the company transforms them into functional satellites.
"So we modified it. You can see this panel. We attached a solar panel to the rocket to provide continuous power and added satellite attitude control and communication components. This part of the rocket is thus transformed into a satellite. What can this satellite be used for? First, it can conduct space environment tests and verification for new satellite components and parts. Second, it can perform low-cost space debris removal," Liu said.
Galactic Energy now flies the CERES-1 carrier rockets and is developing the CERES-2, which is expecting its first flight in late August.
Chinese private rocket maker defies the odds through innovation
Agreements signed between China and Kyrgyzstan at the 2026 Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit in Bishkek are expected to inject fresh momentum into Kyrgyzstan’s growing technology sector, especially in digital economy, artificial intelligence (AI) and clean energy, an expert said.
The summit, held Monday and Tuesday in the Kyrgyz capital, ran under the theme "25 Years of the SCO: Together Towards Sustainable Peace, Development, and Prosperity" and brought together leaders from more than 20 countries.
In an interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN), Chubak Temirov, deputy director of the High Tech Park of the Kyrgyz Republic, said the SCO’s 25 years of trust now pave the way for joint technology ventures beyond Kyrgyzstan’s domestic market.
"The SCO spent 25 years building relationships and trust between our countries, between China and Kyrgyzstan and all other members. And I believe the next stage should be about building things together, in relation to technology; technologies, companies, research, products, and maybe new markets. Today, technology company in Bishkek doesn't necessarily think only about our domestic market, which is only 7.4 million people. We think broader, in relation to all SCO countries, or even global market," Temirov said.
In his meeting with Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov on Monday, Chinese President Xi Jinping said China and Kyrgyzstan should work together to build the Belt and Road Joint Laboratory and strengthen cooperation in areas including AI.
Echoing President Xi's words, Temirov identified local-language AI applications as the most immediate opportunity for Kyrgyzstan, while emphasizing that the best form of technology transfer lies in building local capacity to develop future products independently -- a partnership model that could deepen bilateral collaboration following the summit.
"I think the immediate practical opportunities for Kyrgyzstan in AI would be the local language AI. For example, let's imagine just a farmer in rural area, in some remote mountain in Kyrgyzstan, as you know, Kyrgyzstan is a mountainous country, could speak to an AI assistant in Kyrgyz language and receive information about weather, maybe agriculture. A student could have an AI tutor, for example, in his own language, in native language. Or a citizen could interact with digital public services, right? Digital public services now, in every country, are becoming a major trend of digitalization. Everyone now, just sitting from home, can get any public service s and get different things to make his life easier, right?" he said.
"China has a big scale from infrastructure and a mature AI ecosystem. The best technology transfer is not when you receive any finished product. As I said, it's when your people gain capability to build already the next product themselves, right? This is the kind of China-Kyrgyzstan technology partnership I would see as a really good example. I truly believe that after this summit, we can go to a new layer of friendship and collaboration. And I see more opportunities between China and Kyrgyzstan in AI in general, and in other technologies," he added.
China, Kyrgyzstan double down on tech innovation at SCO Summit
