CALT | |
Native name | 中国运载火箭技术研究院 |
Company type | Subsidiary |
Industry | Aerospace |
Founded | November 16, 1957[1] |
Headquarters | |
Key people |
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Products | |
Services | Orbital rocket launch |
Total assets | ![]() |
Number of employees | 33,000[3] (May 2020) |
Parent | CASC |
Website | www |
China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology | |||||||
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Simplified Chinese | 中国运载火箭技术研究院 | ||||||
Traditional Chinese | 中國運載火箭技術研究院 | ||||||
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CALT | |||||||
Chinese | 火箭院 | ||||||
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The China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT) is a major state-owned civilian and military space launch vehicle manufacturer in China and one of the major launch service providers in the world. CALT is a subsidiary of the larger China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC). It was established in 1957 by Dr. Xue-Sen Qian and is headquartered in Fengtai District, Beijing.[4]
Its major contribution to China's civilian and military launch capability has been the manufacture of the Long March family of rockets.[5][6] CALT has over 33,000 employees.[6] The current Chief Designer is Long Lehao (龙乐豪).[7]
CALT is also planning two spaceplanes. They would both be single-stage to space sub-orbital rocketplanes. One would be a 10-ton 4-passenger plane that would fly to 100 km at Mach 6. The other would be a 100-ton 20-passenger plane that would fly to 130 km at Mach 8. They would be equipped with liquid methane/liquid oxygen rocket engines. The larger spaceplane would also be able to carry a strap-on space rocket, making it function as the first stage of a two-stage to orbit space launch platform. That rocket would launch above the Karman line, and lift 1–2 tons to LEO.[8]
In 2021, following tests by CALT, United States Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall III stated that China was developing and testing a fractional orbital bombardment system.[9][10]
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was invoked but never defined (see the help page).With this size and lift, China's Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT) Chief Designer Long Lehao announced that the Long March 9 will be capable of lifting 140 metric tons to low Earth orbit (LEO), 50 tons to Earth-Moon transfer orbit, and 44 tons to Earth-Mars transfer orbit (140 tons is right between the projected lifts of NASA's Space Launch System (130 tons) and SpaceX's 150 ton BFR).