Origin Space Co., Ltd. 起源太空
Shenzhen space-resources startup (est. 2017) behind the NEO-1 debris-capture test spacecraft (2021), Yangwang-1 space telescope and planned M2 lunar rover.
Origin Space Co., Ltd. is a Shenzhen-based commercial space company that describes itself as China's first company focused on the exploration and utilization of space resources. It was co-founded by Su Meng and Yu Tianhong. Its long-term product line is the NEO-X family of space mining robots, intended eventually to capture and process small near-Earth asteroids, supported by space telescopes for asteroid and debris observation and a lunar rover for resource prospecting.
The company's first technology test spacecraft, NEO-1, was built for Origin Space by Shanghai ASES Spaceflight Technology and launched on a Long March 6 rocket on 27 April 2021. The roughly 30 kg spacecraft was designed to test near-Earth asteroid observation and low-Earth-orbit resource acquisition, including an active debris removal demonstration in which a target is released and captured with a net, and it uses electric propulsion to lower its orbit. A follow-on NEO-2 mission is planned toward the Moon.
In June 2021 the company launched Yangwang-1, a small ultraviolet and visible-light space telescope that it describes as China's first commercial space optical and UV telescope; it was assigned observatory code C59 by the IAU Minor Planet Center and completed an all-sky optical survey in June 2022. Earlier, a small ultraviolet spectroscopy telescope reached orbit in September 2019, and the Lobster Eye X-ray satellite developed with Nanjing University launched in July 2020. Origin Space is also developing the M2 lunar rover, a lunar resource exploration and mining verification vehicle with a 200 kg payload for multispectral imaging, elemental detection and sample return.
Origin Space has cooperation agreements with universities and research institutions including the China Academy of Space Technology (CAST). It raised a CNY 50 million angel round in 2019; total disclosed funding exceeds USD 22 million, with investors including Matrix Partners China and Linear Venture.
Primary type & automation activities this supplier delivers:
NEO-1
- Model: NEO-1
- Launch Year: 2021
Test spacecraft for LEO resource acquisition and net-based space debris capture, launched April 2021.
Yangwang-1
- Model: Yangwang-1
- Launch Year: 2021
Small commercial UV/visible space telescope for asteroid and debris observation, launched June 2021.
Contact Origin Space Co., Ltd.
WEBSITE
https://www.origin.spaceHEADQUARTERS
China
Company Facts
Founded
2017
Primary Role
Manufacturer
Company Size
-
Primary Region
Asia-Pacific
Annual Sales
-
Funding Stage
Early-Stage VC
Funding Total
-
