At 16:00 on January 12, 2026, CAS Space successfully completed the maiden suborbital flight test of the Li Hong - 1 (Y1) vehicle at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. The recoverable payload capsule was successfully retrieved following a smooth landing via its parachute system.

The maiden flight carried several scientific payloads, including a microgravity laser additive manufacturing (3D printing) experiment and rose seeds for space radiation mutagenesis. This mission successfully validated the atmospheric reentry, deceleration, and recovery systems of the payload capsule. Furthermore, it served as a successful demonstration of precision landing control technology for the vehicle’s sub-stage, achieving a landing accuracy within the 100-meter range from a 100-kilometer altitude.

This milestone marks the transition of space-based manufacturing from the "proof of concept" stage to "engineering validation." It establishes a robust technical foundation for the near-future realization of large-scale space manufacturing, orbital experimentation, space medicine, and space tourism.

The Li Hong-1 (PH-1) maiden test vehicle reached an apogee of approximately 120 kilometers, crossing the Karman line to enter outer space. Characterized by its low launch costs, high flexibility, and recoverable payload capabilities, the vehicle is primarily designed to meet the demands of microgravity scientific research and near-space in-situ sensing. It provides scientific payloads with over 300 seconds of a highly stable, reliable, and versatile experimental environment.

This flight test mission primarily validated high-reliability parachute aerodynamic deceleration for the recoverable payload capsule and precision landing control for the vehicle’s sub-stage. The specific achievements are as follows:

1. Advanced Parachute Recovery & Deceleration Systems

• The Li Hong-1 recoverable payload capsule utilized parachute-based recovery. Following atmospheric reentry, the capsule decelerates to subsonic speeds via aerodynamic drag before deploying a parachute system to further reduce velocity, ensuring touchdown speeds meet mission requirements. To achieve this high-reliability deceleration, CAS Space successfully overcame several critical technical hurdles:

• High-precision recovery trajectory prediction for parachute-based systems.
• Integrated aerodynamic and dynamic modeling for body-parachute systems across a wide velocity envelope.

• Reliability modeling and comprehensive performance evaluation for deceleration systems.

These advancements provide early-stage validation for the cluster-parachute recovery technology intended for the company’s upcoming Li Hong-2 reusable vehicle. Furthermore, they provide essential experimental data for the reliable recovery of future manned space tourism spacecraft.

Here is the translation for the second major technical achievement, optimized for technical precision and professional readability:

2. Precision Landing Control for Sub-stage Recovery

The Li Hong-1 mission successfully validated sub-stage precision landing control technology, a critical enabler for the vertical recovery and reuse of launch vehicles. Operating under the constraints of complex reentry aerodynamic forces, thermal environments, and high-dimensional terminal conditions, the vehicle utilized online real-time trajectory guidance and optimization algorithms to achieve high-precision landing control. Key validated breakthroughs include:

• High-precision, multi-model real-time trajectory optimization for solving strongly non-linear landing challenges.
• Robust autonomous optimal guidance was designed to mitigate complex environmental disturbances and system deviations.
• Hardware-software co-design, integrating autonomous guidance algorithms with a new generation of high-performance, flight-grade guidance computers.

These verified results are directly transferable to orbital-class launch vehicles, providing a more cost-effective pathway to mastering the core technologies required for rocket reusability.

Future iterations of the Li Hong-1 recoverable payload capsule will be upgraded into an orbital-class space manufacturing spacecraft with a maximum orbital duration of no less than one year and a service life of at least 10 reuses, specifically optimized for high-precision in-orbit manufacturing. Equipped with autonomous closed-loop control for experimental manufacturing and high-speed satellite-to-ground communication links, the spacecraft will enable fully autonomous and efficient operations.

This platform will establish a comprehensive space science ecosystem—integrating "Earth-to-orbit transportation, in-situ research, sample return, and data empowerment." It is designed to support a wide array of applications, including space-based pharmaceuticals, drug screening, animal testing, and high-end semiconductor manufacturing, as well as frontier research in microgravity physics, space life sciences, and space materials science.

The LAM-MG-R1 (Microgravity Laser Additive Manufacturing Recoverable Scientific Payload) carried on this maiden flight is a technical demonstrator for space-based metal additive manufacturing, independently developed by the Institute of Mechanics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (IAM-CAS).

The primary objective of the payload is to validate the feasibility of laser wire-feed metal additive manufacturing within a microgravity environment. The mission is expected to yield critical scientific data, including key process parameters, the geometric characteristics of the printed components, and various performance metrics. This mission establishes a robust foundation for the fundamental theories and core technologies of space-based metal additive manufacturing. Furthermore, it provides invaluable operational experience for the development of future long-term in-orbit manufacturing and in-situ repair capabilities, significantly advancing the trajectory of space manufacturing sector.

Furthermore, to usher in the new era of space-based manufacturing, CAS Space and IAM-CAS have successfully completed ground testing for the core module of the 'Reconfigurable Flexible In-orbit Manufacturing Platform.' The project achieved critical breakthroughs in key technologies, including the reliable interfacing of rigid structures with flexible modules, verification of module seal integrity, rapid inflation and precision deployment, and stable control during in-orbit inflation. This milestone marks a significant transition—moving from technical concept innovation to the engineering implementation of a large-scale, in-orbit manufacturing support platform.

The space radiation mutagenesis experiment involves rose seeds developed through artificial hybridization by Nanyang Agricultural Vocational College, in collaboration with the Nanyang Academy of Forestry Sciences and Henan Agricultural University. These seeds were selected from wild rose and ancient Chinese rose germplasm resources known for their superior traits, high stress resilience, and strong disease resistance.

The primary mission is to induce genetic mutations via cosmic radiation. Upon their return, the seeds will undergo breeding, observation, and evaluation at the National Forest Germplasm Resource Bank for Roses in Nanyang, Henan Province. The goal is to create high-resistance, multi-purpose rose germplasm resources, providing the technical and theoretical support necessary to develop new rose varieties with clear genetic backgrounds and targeted breeding characteristics. This mission opens new avenues for space breeding and establishes a robust foundation for the future of space agriculture.