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Chinese firm’s Lixun-1 ‘space tug’ eyes maiden flight in Q1 2027 after key propulsion tests_我的网站

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The general assembly of the Lixun-1 upper stage Photo: Courtesy of CAS Space

    The Lixun-1 upper stage Photo: Courtesy of CAS Space
Lixun-1 upper stage, a versatile "space tug" developed by China's commercial space firm CAS Space, is scheduled to make its maiden flight in the first quarter of 2027 after completing a series of key propulsion-system tests, the developer and its chief designer told the Global Times on Tuesday.
The "tug" is designed to ferry satellites from one orbit to another and support missions ranging from constellation deployment to lunar exploration.
While the main stages of a rocket carry payloads from the ground into an initial orbit, an upper stage takes over once the craft is in space. By repeatedly restarting its engine and changing orbit, Lixun-1 can deliver satellites to higher or different orbits, distribute multiple spacecraft to separate destinations during a single launch, or send probes onto trajectories toward the moon and beyond, Global Times learned from the developer.
Yang Haoliang, chief designer of the Lixun-1 upper stage, compared the system to a shuttle service. "If the regular stages of a launch vehicle are like a long-distance bus," - they carry the upper stage and satellites from Earth to a near-Earth parking orbit - the upper stage then takes over as a "space tug," carrying its satellite "passengers" onward to their designated orbital "stops," Yang explained.
That capability can have a direct impact on how efficiently satellites are launched and operated, Yang said. If a satellite has to climb from an initial orbit to its final destination using its own engine, the process can consume a considerable amount of onboard propellant and reduce the fuel available during its operational life. An upper stage can instead perform that orbital transfer, helping conserve satellite fuel and potentially extend its service life.
It can also make one rocket launch do more work. Instead of releasing a batch of satellites into roughly the same orbit, Lixun-1 can repeatedly ignite its engine and maneuver between deployments, sending different satellites to different altitudes and inclinations. Yang said this would help accelerate constellation deployment while improving the efficiency of individual launches.
The practical ambitions behind the system are backed by a major technical milestone reached this month. In August, Lixun-1 completed its PV-001 integrated propulsion-system coordination firing test, during which the entire system operated smoothly for 566 seconds.
Yang told the Global Times that the current Lixun-1 upper stage has a thrust of 20 kilonewtons and can achieve a specific impulse of 315 seconds, which he described as reaching an internationally leading level. The August firing covered the planned profile for the maiden mission, an important step before the system proceeds to flight testing.
The test was more than a demonstration of the engine itself. As an important system-level verification during development, it examined the coordination and engineering reliability of the engine pressurization system, propellant delivery system, propellant management system and servo-control system under the fully integrated configuration.
Of a series of tests that accumulated 5,211 seconds of firing time, the latest one focused on three core technologies: a high-thrust, high-performance 20-kilonewton upper-stage engine capable of multiple starts; balanced propellant delivery from multiple parallel tanks; and a highly reliable integrated electrical system. Their successful verification means Lixun-1 has completed its system-level testing and is ready to move into the flight-test phase, according to the developer.
Lixun-1 has been designed as a modular and generally adaptable upper stage rather than a system tied to only one rocket. It is intended to work with CAS Space's Kinetica-2 and Kinetica-2 heavy-lift variants as well as other launch vehicles, Yang said.
When paired with the Kinetica-2 family, Lixun-1 could significantly expand the rocket's mission range. For communications missions, it could deliver satellites to geosynchronous transfer orbit or even directly to geosynchronous orbit, conserving satellite propellant while supporting the deployment of high-throughput satellites and future 6G communications spacecraft.
For multi-satellite missions, the combination could distribute spacecraft to different orbital altitudes and inclinations during a single launch, potentially serving both low-Earth-orbit constellations and medium- or high-orbit payloads. For deep-space missions, it could place probes onto Earth-moon transfer trajectories and support lunar exploration, Yang said.
The upper stage is designed to be able to conduct more than 20 engine ignitions, autonomously plan orbital-transfer routes and operate under the vacuum and extreme temperature conditions of space. After completing payload deployment, it can also carry out orbital disposal maneuvers to reduce space-debris risks.
Yang said the Lixun-1 and Kinetica-2 combination is designed to cover the vast majority of commercial satellite launch requirements while retaining the ability to participate in major national space projects. More broadly, the upper stage forms part of CAS Space's effort to build launch capabilities reaching medium and high Earth orbits and deep space, extending the reach of China's commercial space sector toward higher orbits and more distant destinations.
。          　　第二届世界人形机器人运动会开幕，加速进化以群体智能方阵与全自主足球赛宣告具身智能进入"群体协同"新纪元      　　【北京，2026年8月22日】今晚，北京国家速滑馆"冰丝带"灯光璀璨。第二届世界人形机器人运动会开幕式上，来自北京海淀的国家高新技术企业加速进化(Booster)以近乎"包场"的姿态，向全球展示了具身智能的里程碑式突破：80台搭载2070 TFLOPS端侧算力的Booster T2人形机器人，在无遥控、无动捕的条件下，自主完成方阵变阵并拼出 "BEIJING" 字样;随后，14 台 T2 在近千平标准足球场上演人类历史上首场 7v7 全自主人形机器人足球表演赛，并以超过人类反应速度的端到端决策，在点球大战中击败人类守门员。     　　从静态的群体智能到动态的对抗协同，从"写下"一座城市的名字到"踢赢"真实的人类对手——加速进化用一晚的时间，将群体智能从实验室概念推进为可验证、可感知、可震撼的现实。

B | 世界人形机器人运动会开幕，加速进化C位出道！　　80台"行走的超算"：群体智能从理论到现实　　当晚最具视觉冲击的环节，莫过于80台加速进化Booster T2的自主方阵变阵。　　8×10方阵整齐立于冰面之上，没有任何后台发令系统，没有中央指挥统一调度。每一台T2都依托其搭载的英伟达Thor旗舰芯片与2070 TFLOPS端侧算力，独立观察周围环境、判断自身位置、调整步伐节奏。80台同时运转，构成了一个约17万TFLOPS的"行走超算中心"，视觉感知、长程任务规划与实时动作执行在端侧深度融合。世界人形机器人运动会开幕，加速进化C位出道！　　在全场观众的注视下，80台T2从分散状态自主聚拢，精准组成运动会会徽;随后阵型再次变换，足球、网球、乒乓球三项赛项图标依次呈现;最终，80台机器人自主抵达各自坐标，在地面上拼出"BEIJING"字样，随后整齐跑步退场。世界人形机器人运动会开幕，加速进化C位出道！　　"这不是编排出来的整齐划一，而是80个独立决策体在各自决策后达成的集体秩序，"现场技术负责人介绍。据悉，这是人类历史上首次有近八十台全自主人形机器人在物理世界中完成群体协同，标志着群体智能从单体智能的"孤岛"正式迈向"大陆"。

C | 　　值得一提的是，就在三天前(8月19日)，加速进化的端到端研究成果刚刚登上机器人领域顶级学术期刊Science Robotics首页。从顶刊理论验证到冰丝带现场实证，加速进化仅用了三天时间。　　7v7真打：没有剧本的足球赛　　如果说方阵展示的是"静"的协同，那么随后的7v7足球表演赛则展现了"动"的博弈。

D | 　　在相当于两个半标准篮球场并排的近千平标准足球场上，14台Booster T2分为"加速队"与"进化队"，展开了一场没有任何遥控设备、没有任何动捕支持的全自主对抗。　　"现在很多机器人公司展示的动作都是预设的，"加速进化技术负责人表示，"足球完全不同——球下一秒滚向哪里，对手下一秒怎么移动，每一秒都在变，没有任何一个动作可以提前写好。" 　　场上，14台T2展现出近乎人类U9青训水平的足球理解：前锋前插、中场调度、后卫协防，甚至复刻了世界杯决赛的经典进球。

E | 它们自己既是运动员，也是教练——每一台都在实时计算球、队友与对手的位置，并在0.1秒内完成传切决策。

F | 　　能在如此大空间尺度下实现多机实时协同，印证了加速进化长期以来的技术判断：足球是具身智能的最佳训练场。世界人形机器人运动会开幕，加速进化C位出道！　　点球"AlphaGo时刻"：端到端革命击败人类　　表演赛的高潮出现在人机点球环节。　　一台身高1.4米的Booster T2站在12码前，面对央视新闻联播主持人康辉、面对著名足球运动员、中国U16国家男子足球队主教练杨晨提出的考题。助跑、摆腿、射门——球速超过每小时100公里，已超越当前职业球员的射门球速。更令人震撼的是其决策速度：从"看到球门"到"完成射门"的整体决策时间，T2的思考速度甚至比人类眨眼还快。

G | 　　这背后是加速进化领先的端到端运动大模型。

H | 传统机器人需要"感知→规划→决策→执行"的分步拆解，而加速进化T2直接将视觉信号输入神经网络，输出关节控制指令，从"看到"到"做到"一气呵成。全过程完全自主，无动捕、无遥控、无预编程。　　"这是机器人版的'AlphaGo时刻'，"现场解说评价，"围棋AI在棋盘上战胜人类，是'思考'的胜利;今天，机器人在物理世界、在真实对抗中完成超越人类水平的实时决策与执行，是'身体'的胜利。" 　　进球后，T2甚至做出了面向观众的庆祝动作——这并非预设动作，而是任务成功后的情感化表达。世界人形机器人运动会开幕，加速进化C位出道！　　为什么是加速进化：具身智能时代的"安卓" 　　一晚之内连续完成群体智能方阵与全自主对抗足球，源于加速进化在底层技术上的全栈布局。　　加速进化发布的Booster Studio是全球首款专为具身智能开发而生的IDE，打通从仿真训练到真机部署的"最后一公里"，让开发者无需关心底层机械差异，专注创造智能。　　这一"开放硬件+开放系统+开发工具"的生态战略，使加速进化正在成为全球开发者的共同选择。一个月前在2026 RoboCup韩国仁川，全球近百支参赛队伍中70%选用加速进化机器人，且公司包揽双足人形所有组别的全部金牌。从德国HTWK、美国UT Austin到清华火神队，顶尖团队不约而同站上了同一款中国平台。　　市场数据同样印证了这一平台的号召力：加速进化2025年实现小型人形机器人全球销量第一，累计交付数千台，覆盖30余个国家，2026年一季度出货量同比增长500%，并于2025年12月实现经营性现金流回正。　　北京之声：硅基文明的第一次签名　　当80台T2在冰丝带拼出"BEIJING"，这一画面被现场技术人员称为"硅基文明的第一次签名"——碳基文明给这座城市命名之后，硅基文明第一次用自己的方式写下了同一座城市的名字。　　加速进化于2023年成立于北京海淀，是国家高新技术企业、北京市专精特新企业。北京作为全国机器人产业集聚区之一，拥有机器人骨干企业400余家，人形机器人整机单位超过30家，正全力打造国际科技创新中心。加速进化从北京走向全球，海外营收占比已超60%，其成长轨迹本身就是北京新质生产力的缩影。

I | 　　"BEIJING不需要翻译，"加速进化创始人程昊表示，"当80台自主机器人拼出它，全世界都能理解：这座城市、这个国家，正在定义群体智能的规则。" 　　从 Science Robotics 的首页论文，到冰丝带的80台方阵;从RoboCup的包揽金牌，到7v7的全自主真打——加速进化正在用"赛事验证技术、技术反哺生态"的闭环，推动人形机器人从"能动"走向"能用"，从"单机智能"迈向"群体智能"。世界人形机器人运动会开幕，加速进化C位出道！【广告】免责声明：本内容为广告，相关素材由广告主提供，本文仅代表作者个人观点，与本网无关。本网发布目的在于传递更多信息，并不代表本网赞同其观点和对其真实性负责，广告内容仅供读者参考，请自行核实相关内容。