In the US, much of the recent media attention to space travel is centered on the activities of flamboyant billionaires and private companies. Left out, though, is the fact that, like in much of the rest of global business, a new generation of Chinese commercial and tourist space endeavors are looking to compete as well.

One of the more intriguing of China's emerging commercial space launch companies is Expace. Founded in February, the firm will be the lead tenant of China's first commercial space industrial park in Wuhan, China. It has already signed up over 10 launches for its solid fueled Kuaizhou Rockets. Zhang Di, Expace's chairman, is also a Deputy Director of the Fourth Academy of the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC), which makes the Kuaizhou rockets.