China Academy of Space Technology (CAST) 中国空间技术研究院
Beijing spacecraft prime contractor founded in 1968; builds Chang'e lunar landers and rovers, crewed station modules and space robotic arms.
The China Academy of Space Technology (CAST) is China's main spacecraft research, design and manufacturing institute, headquartered at 104 Youyi Road, Haidian District, Beijing (Aerospace City). Established in 1968, CAST reports that by 2023 it had served as prime contractor for more than 430 spacecraft, nearly 280 of which were still operating in orbit, and employed more than 22,000 people. It comprises about 23 subsidiaries and institutes, including the Qian Xuesen Laboratory of Space Technology, the Institute of Spacecraft System Engineering, the Beijing Institute of Spacecraft Environment Engineering and the Institute of Remote Sensing Satellite.
CAST's business areas are crewed spaceflight, lunar and deep-space exploration, navigation and positioning, Earth observation, telecommunications and broadcasting, and space science and technology experiments, plus spin-off businesses in satellite applications, industrial intelligent control and space biotechnology. It supplies spacecraft from system level down to equipment and components, as well as assembly, integration and test (AIT) infrastructure, training and orbit and frequency consulting.
Robotics-related work at CAST includes its space robotic arm (presented as "China Space Robotic Arm"), on-orbit robotic arm and planetary rover demonstrations, the Wentian laboratory module's docking with the Tianhe core module of the Chinese space station, the Chang'e-6 return system with its drilling and sealing technology for lunar far-side sampling, the Tianwen-2 asteroid exploration mission, and a seminar on space robotics and embodied spacecraft technology. The Tianhe core module carries a robotic arm about 10 m long when fully extended, designed to assist station operations and module connection. CAST developed the Chang'e lunar landers and the Yutu and Yutu-2 lunar rovers.
Primary type & automation activities this supplier delivers:
Space Station Robotic Arm (Tianhe core module)
- Launch Year: 2021
Roughly 10 m robotic arm on the Tianhe core module for station operations and module transfer.
Yutu-2 Lunar Rover
- Model: Yutu-2
- Launch Year: 2019
Lunar rover of the Chang'e-4 mission operating on the far side of the Moon.
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Contact China Academy of Space Technology (CAST)
WEBSITE
https://www.cast.cnPHONE
+86 10 6874 6780HEADQUARTERS
China
Company Facts
Founded
1968
Primary Role
Research Institute
Company Size
-
Primary Region
Asia-Pacific
Annual Sales
-
Funding Stage
Subsidiary / Acquired
Funding Total
-
Keywords
- China Academy of Space Technology (CAST)
- 中国空间技术研究院
- Chang'e lunar lander
- Yutu rover
- space station robotic arm
- Tianhe core module
- Chang'e-6 sampling
- Tianwen-2
- spacecraft prime contractor
- embodied spacecraft
- Research Institute
- Manufacturer
- Autonomous Vehicle/UGV
- Industrial Robot
- Aerospace & Space
- Space Explore
- On Orbit Servicing
