The time traveler completed an angel + round financing of tens of millions of yuan, and China's first manned spacecraft test ship is about to go into production | Exclusive report from Hard Krypton

Author | Zhang Yujie

Editor | Peng Xiaoqiu

Hard Kr has learned that recently, Beijing Transcender Manned Space Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Transcender") has completed a multi - million - yuan Angel + round of financing. This round of financing was jointly invested by Zhongtian Huifu and Binfu Capital. The funds will be used to accelerate the engineering research and development of the Transcender No. 1 (CYZ1) sub - orbital manned spacecraft and the production of the first test ship.

Transcender was established on January 11, 2023. It is a commercial manned space technology enterprise integrating the research and development of reusable manned spacecraft and the operation of space tourism. Only six months have passed since the last round of financing. During this period, Transcender has achieved several key technological breakthroughs, including China's first ground verification test of the active thermal protection technology for manned spacecraft, breaking through the bottleneck that the traditional thermal protection technology for manned spacecraft cannot be reused; developing an intelligent flight control computer for manned spacecraft; and completing the software - hardware matching test of the computer and the improved prediction - correction guidance algorithm.

Ground verification experiment of the active thermal protection technology for Transcender's manned spacecraft

Currently, Transcender is focusing on the research and development of the CYZ1 sub - orbital manned spacecraft. The CYZ1 manned spacecraft is the first domestically designed manned spacecraft aiming for full reusability. Based on the research and development of China's Shenzhou spacecraft and the new - generation spacecraft, which have achieved partial reusability of the return capsule, with the user experience as the core and absorbing excellent foreign design concepts, through the innovative design of the spacecraft configuration and the reusable design of key systems such as escape, structure, and recovery, 99% of the spacecraft's mass can be reused.

Meanwhile, the CYZ1 will also be the first domestic manned spacecraft to adopt advanced push - type escape technology and the world's first blunt - body manned spacecraft capable of high - precision return within a hundred - meter range and lossless landing recovery. Compared with the only benchmark in this field, the "New Shepard" spacecraft of Blue Origin in the United States, it has a larger in - cabin flight space, higher landing point accuracy, and a longer flight experience. It can be used for both manned and cargo transportation in terms of function.

Transcender No. 1 (CYZ1) Sub - orbital Manned Spacecraft

Currently, Transcender is conducting key technological research. It plans to carry out the first full - scale landing buffer test of a manned spacecraft in China's commercial space field in the second half of this year, focusing on breaking through the lossless landing technology of manned spacecraft, verifying the effectiveness of the landing system design, and creating an ultimate "cloud - like landing" experience; conducting a zero - height escape test of the manned spacecraft to verify the overall scheme of the manned spacecraft and the key escape and rescue technologies; further deepening strategic cooperation with leading domestic commercial rocket companies to conduct joint research on the integrated technology of the spacecraft and the rocket; and at the same time, establishing a space tourist club community and starting to build a series of ground experience projects, including space health care and space training, to create the "Disney" of the space industry.

Lei Shiqing, the founder and CEO of Transcender, said: "The completion of this round of financing coincides with the full - scale entry of China's manned lunar exploration project into the preliminary prototype research and development stage. Transcender will seize this strategic opportunity to accelerate the achievement of the key goals of a zero - height escape test of the spacecraft in 2026, an unmanned sub - orbital flight in 2027, and the first commercial manned flight in 2028.

China's New - Generation Manned Space Transportation Vehicle "Dream Boat"

Views of the Investors:

Chen Yu, a partner of Binfu Capital believes that as the core spacecraft for humans to travel to and from space, the manned spacecraft bears the ultimate dream and mission of exploring the universe. The derived space tourism track is showing a vast blue ocean worth hundreds of billions of yuan. Transcender is currently a scarce comprehensive team in China with the full - chain capabilities of commercial manned spacecraft, mastering the complete closed - loop capabilities from product definition, research and development to commercial operation. It is a pioneer and system builder in this field in China. With the accelerated development of the space economy, more people will enter space. The scarce value and first - mover advantage of the Transcender team will become increasingly prominent, and it is expected to further develop the market value of manned commercial space and rapidly promote the commercialization process.

Wu Jianfeng, a partner of Zhongtian Huifu believes that the commercial space industry, as a trillion - yuan track, is driving the space economy into an explosive period. As the first domestic commercial space enterprise integrating the engineering research and development of reusable manned spacecraft, Transcender is reconstructing the global competitiveness of China's commercial space through technological innovation and the ecological layout of the entire space tourism chain. The composite team centered around the founder Lei Shiqing has constructed a closed - loop growth model of "technological breakthrough - scenario implementation - ecological extension". The company uses reusable technology to match the economic advantages of SpaceX's Starship, competes with Blue Origin in sub - orbital tourism in a differentiated way, and relies on Oriental wisdom to promote China's commercial manned space to the international forefront, opening a new era of low - cost and regular space tourism.