Chinese Startup Traveler Targets 2028 for First Manned Spaceflight with Initial Bookings Secured

Beijing Traveler Manned Aerospace, a Chinese commercial spaceflight startup also known as Traveler, announced it has secured its first cohort of over 20 space tourists and is targeting 2028 for its inaugural manned mission.

The announcement was made during a global press event held on January 22 in Beijing, where the company unveiled the full-scale test capsule of its commercial manned spacecraft, the Traveler I (CYZ1). The technical team behind the CYZ1 confirmed that bookings have already exceeded the capacity of three spacecraft flights.

The initial group of passengers includes prominent figures from China's technology and investment sectors. Notable names on the manifest are Li Licheng, an academician at the Chinese Academy of Engineering; Qiu Heng, Chief Marketing Officer of Agibot; Wang Jing, founder of the outdoor brand Toread; and Fu Zhekuan, Chairman of Qifu. In a novel development for the sector, the passenger list also includes a non-human entity: the PM01 robot developed by EngineAI.

The company’s timeline for a 2028 launch follows recent technical milestones. On January 18, Traveler reported the successful completion of comprehensive verification tests for the spacecraft's landing cushion system, with all metrics meeting expected targets. According to the company, this achievement makes Traveler the third commercial aerospace enterprise globally to develop and verify landing cushion technology for manned spacecraft.

This development signals accelerating activity in China's private space sector, as domestic firms seek to emulate the trajectory of international counterparts in opening the suborbital and orbital tourism markets. The successful validation of critical landing systems and the securing of paying customers mark essential steps toward commercial viability for the Beijing-based firm.