Lingkong Tianxing
| Space Transportation | |
Native name | 北京凌空天行科技有限责任公司 |
| Company type | Private |
| Industry | Aerospace |
| Founded | August 2012 |
| Founders | Wang Yudong |
| Headquarters | Beijing, China |
Key people | Wang Yudong (Chairman) |
| Website | spacetransportation |
Beijing Lingkong Tianxing Technology Co., Ltd. (branded as Lingkong Tianxing or Space Transportation) is a Chinese aerospace company headquartered in Beijing. It focuses on hypersonic flight technology
History
Space Transportation was founded in August 2012.[1] Its founder Wang Yudong graduated from Nanchang Hangkong University as well as Tsinghua University and later went to work for the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology.[2] Investors of the company include Matrix Partners China and Source Code Capital.[3]
Product history
Rockets
On 22 April 2019, Space Transportation carried out a test in northwest China in cooperation with Xiamen University, launching a 3,700-kilogram rocket named Jiageng-1. The joint flight was to test the performance of the dual waverider forebody configuration and to verify the rocket recovery and reuse technology.[4]
In July 2025, Space Transportation released a video showing it was developing a reusable liquid rocket.[5]
Aircraft
In April 2022, Space Transportation released a video showing it was developing a hypersonic passenger space plane that could fly at speeds over twice as fast as the Concorde.[6]
In October 2024, Space Transportation stated its prototype commercial transport plane named Yunxing successfully completed its test flight travelling at Mach 4. The maiden flight target was set to 2027.[7]
In December 2024, Space Transportation conducted the first test a detonation ramjet engine named Jindouyun or JinDou400 that was named after the cloud used by Sun Wukong.[8]
In January 2025, Space Transportation unveiled it was developing an unmanned aerial vehicle named Cuantianhou which means soaring stone monkey which is a reference to Sun Wukong. It could reach a cruise speed of Mach 4.2[9]
Hypersonic weapons
On 25 November 2025, Space Transportation revealed it was developing the YKJ-1000, a hypersonic missile that could travel at speeds between Mach 5 and Mach 7. It came at a significantly lower price than competitors with rumors each missile would only cost 700,000 yuan.[1][2] The reveal attracted media attention with China Central Television stating if the product was introduced on the international defense market it would have a huge impact as it could empower smaller nations to challenge major military powers.[10]
See also
References
- ^ a b "四川民企造出高超音速导弹？ 凌空天行：已量产". 星岛头条 (in Simplified Chinese). 28 November 2025. Retrieved 4 December 2025.
- ^ a b "A private enterprise has developed hypersonic missiles. This is something that can't be thought about too deeply". 36Kr. 27 November 2025. Retrieved 4 December 2025.
- ^ Jones, Andrew (10 August 2021). "Chinese hypersonic spaceplane company raises $46 million". SpaceNews. Retrieved 4 December 2025.
- ^ Jones, Andrew (26 April 2025). "Chinese firms Space Transportation and Linkspace test reusable launcher technologies". SpaceNews.
- ^ Tong, Zhang (3 July 2025). "From rocket ballet to space fireworks: China's aerospace innovators push boundaries". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 4 December 2025.
- ^ Sillers, Paul (5 April 2022). "Shanghai to New York in two hours? China joins the hypersonic flight race". CNN. Retrieved 4 December 2025.
- ^ Tong, Zhang (28 October 2024). "Test flight of Chinese plane designed to travel twice as fast as Concorde". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 4 December 2025.
- ^ Tong, Zhang (18 December 2024). "Chinese detonation engine in test flight for supersonic passenger jet". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 4 December 2025.
- ^ Tong, Zhang (23 January 2025). "China's commercial Mach-4 drone tipped to make first flight next year". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 4 December 2025.
- ^ Tong, Zhang (2 December 2025). "China's 'dirt cheap' missiles could shake up global defence market: state media". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 4 December 2025.