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Chinese firm’s Lixun-1 ‘space tug’ eyes maiden flight in Q1 2027 after key propulsion tests_我的网站

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    The general assembly of the Lixun-1 upper stage Photo: Courtesy of CAS Space
    The Lixun-1 upper stage Photo: Courtesy of CAS Space
Lixun-1 upper stage, a versatile "space tug" developed by China's commercial space firm CAS Space, is scheduled to make its maiden flight in the first quarter of 2027 after completing a series of key propulsion-system tests, the developer and its chief designer told the Global Times on Tuesday.
The "tug" is designed to ferry satellites from one orbit to another and support missions ranging from constellation deployment to lunar exploration. 
While the main stages of a rocket carry payloads from the ground into an initial orbit, an upper stage takes over once the craft is in space. By repeatedly restarting its engine and changing orbit, Lixun-1 can deliver satellites to higher or different orbits, distribute multiple spacecraft to separate destinations during a single launch, or send probes onto trajectories toward the moon and beyond, Global Times learned from the developer.
Yang Haoliang, chief designer of the Lixun-1 upper stage, compared the system to a shuttle service. "If the regular stages of a launch vehicle are like a long-distance bus," - they carry the upper stage and satellites from Earth to a near-Earth parking orbit - the upper stage then takes over as a "space tug," carrying its satellite "passengers" onward to their designated orbital "stops," Yang explained. 
That capability can have a direct impact on how efficiently satellites are launched and operated, Yang said. If a satellite has to climb from an initial orbit to its final destination using its own engine, the process can consume a considerable amount of onboard propellant and reduce the fuel available during its operational life. An upper stage can instead perform that orbital transfer, helping conserve satellite fuel and potentially extend its service life.
It can also make one rocket launch do more work. Instead of releasing a batch of satellites into roughly the same orbit, Lixun-1 can repeatedly ignite its engine and maneuver between deployments, sending different satellites to different altitudes and inclinations. Yang said this would help accelerate constellation deployment while improving the efficiency of individual launches.
The practical ambitions behind the system are backed by a major technical milestone reached this month. In August, Lixun-1 completed its PV-001 integrated propulsion-system coordination firing test, during which the entire system operated smoothly for 566 seconds.  
Yang told the Global Times that the current Lixun-1 upper stage has a thrust of 20 kilonewtons and can achieve a specific impulse of 315 seconds, which he described as reaching an internationally leading level. The August firing covered the planned profile for the maiden mission, an important step before the system proceeds to flight testing.
The test was more than a demonstration of the engine itself. As an important system-level verification during development, it examined the coordination and engineering reliability of the engine pressurization system, propellant delivery system, propellant management system and servo-control system under the fully integrated configuration.
Of a series of tests that accumulated 5,211 seconds of firing time, the latest one focused on three core technologies: a high-thrust, high-performance 20-kilonewton upper-stage engine capable of multiple starts; balanced propellant delivery from multiple parallel tanks; and a highly reliable integrated electrical system. Their successful verification means Lixun-1 has completed its system-level testing and is ready to move into the flight-test phase, according to the developer.
Lixun-1 has been designed as a modular and generally adaptable upper stage rather than a system tied to only one rocket. It is intended to work with CAS Space's Kinetica-2 and Kinetica-2 heavy-lift variants as well as other launch vehicles, Yang said.
When paired with the Kinetica-2 family, Lixun-1 could significantly expand the rocket's mission range. For communications missions, it could deliver satellites to geosynchronous transfer orbit or even directly to geosynchronous orbit, conserving satellite propellant while supporting the deployment of high-throughput satellites and future 6G communications spacecraft.
For multi-satellite missions, the combination could distribute spacecraft to different orbital altitudes and inclinations during a single launch, potentially serving both low-Earth-orbit constellations and medium- or high-orbit payloads. For deep-space missions, it could place probes onto Earth-moon transfer trajectories and support lunar exploration, Yang said.
The upper stage is designed to be able to conduct more than 20 engine ignitions, autonomously plan orbital-transfer routes and operate under the vacuum and extreme temperature conditions of space. After completing payload deployment, it can also carry out orbital disposal maneuvers to reduce space-debris risks.
Yang said the Lixun-1 and Kinetica-2 combination is designed to cover the vast majority of commercial satellite launch requirements while retaining the ability to participate in major national space projects. More broadly, the upper stage forms part of CAS Space's effort to build launch capabilities reaching medium and high Earth orbits and deep space, extending the reach of China's commercial space sector toward higher orbits and more distant destinations.
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三 | “咖啡粉其实只是业者成本的一部分，如今业者也要配合政府渐进式薪金模式承担每年给予所有职员更高薪资，同时又要面对租金、水电费、食材价格等方方面面的增长。有的大型或连锁咖啡店集团可能可以靠批量进货控制成本，但小型或单一的咖啡店，成本涨幅或至少要超过40%跑不掉。”旗下拥有约200个商号会员的琼侨咖啡酒餐商公会会长李家赋则观察到，咖啡粉从去年每桶约60新元已逐渐攀升至目前的每桶约90新元，增幅高达50%。“咖啡粉一年连续起了好几次，但消费者对咖啡饮料价格又特别敏感，咖啡店饮料摊根本没办法跟着成本做相应的价格调整，基本上只要年头增了一角，下来一整年就再无法起价了，否则食客就不来了。业者只能自己尽量拉长补短，直到无法持续下去。

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五 | 洪宝兴指出，政府近年推出经济餐计划，不少会员咖啡店即使当局未强制也自愿参与， 将咖啡等热饮价格定在1.10新元至1.20新元的经济价格内。如今不少商号会员苦于面临成本攀升压力和无法相应调整售价的两难，唯有向公会反馈求助。“我们已经电邮当局，反映旗下会员的苦衷了，希望能尽早和当局对话沟通，看是否能允许业者在价格方面能有调整的空间，或是能怎样给予会员帮助。”制造商：越南供应减少导致咖啡粉制造商指，越南供应减少导致价格不到两年内增四五倍。

六 | 　为狮城不少咖啡店和小贩中心饮料摊供应咖啡粉的映城咖啡粉制造厂负责人林勇辉受访时说，本地“南洋”咖啡所使用的罗布斯塔（Robusta）咖啡豆主要来自印尼，但也有部分从越南进口。他说，有的同行和他们一样从本地进口商订购咖啡豆，将之烘焙、包装后再供应咖啡业者，有者则直接从国外进口咖啡豆。据他透露，咖啡豆因供应情况已从去年初的每100斤（50公斤）百多新元，飙升至如今的500多新元，换言之价格在不到两年内激增超过4倍。“我从进口商那里得知的是，越南出产的咖啡豆现在很多都被制造即溶咖啡的大厂商给买去了，其他供应商能买到的量减少很多，价格就被推高了。

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Published on:22:34:02