Private rocket company Jianyuan Technology recently announced that it will join hands with Taobao to launch a research project using reusable launch vehicle technology to deliver express delivery. The news of "Rocket Delivery" quickly spread across the Internet, and many netizens went to Taobao to ask.:Are you really not joking about April Fools 'Day? On April 1, April 1, April Fool's Day, Taobao's official Weibo responded to netizens saying:Many great things may seem like a joke at first.

"Rocket Delivery" is very similar to an April Fool's Day joke, but actually it is not. It is really a serious scientific research project. The essence of rockets is a means of transportation. In recent years, with the breakthroughs of reusable technology, rockets have also expanded from satellite-to-earth round-trip vehicles to land-to-land transportation vehicles, and from "interstellar express delivery" to "land express delivery". The rocket's point-to-point transportation, or "land express" function, has entered the experimental stage in the United States. As early as 2022, SpaceX, a US space exploration technology company, launched a plan to use the "Starship" heavy rocket to transport cargo around the world in 30 minutes.

3月6日，建设中的海南国际商业航天发射中心二号发射工位。蒲晓旭摄（新华社）

From the perspective of commercial feasibility, rocket delivery has a bright future and is worth exploring.

In 2015, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Finance, and the National Defense Science and Technology Administration jointly issued the "National Civil Space Infrastructure Medium and Long-Term Development Plan (2015-2025)", which clearly encouraged private enterprises to develop commercial aerospace technology and opened the door for China's aerospace industry. The transformation process from a single government-led to a combination of government-led and market-driven has spawned a number of Chinese commercial aerospace start-ups. Jianyuan Technology, established in November 2019, is one of them. The main product of this private rocket company is the "Yuanzhe-1" medium and large stainless steel reusable liquid launch vehicle. The front section of the rocket is designed with a express cargo warehouse with a volume of 120 cubic meters and can transport 10 tons of cargo.

Only by finding a sustainable commercial model with large investment and high risks in the aerospace industry can private aerospace companies recover funds through commercial application of technological achievements, further invest in research and development, and achieve technological iteration and upgrading, forming a virtuous cycle. 2023年中国全年快递业务量达1320亿件，连续10年稳居世界第一。中国物流与采购联合会预计，2023年中国全年社会物流总额达350万亿元。作为大型电商平台，淘宝巨大的物流需求显然将为民营航天释放巨大的发展空间。淘宝与箭元科技合作探索火箭送快递，不仅能支持中国航天探索商业化新路径，还能提高电商快递的物流运输效率。这意味着未来为火箭运力买单的客户不再局限于目前的政府和企业，而将扩展到大众消费者。

From the perspective of technical feasibility, rocket delivery is very immature and requires patience.

** Reusable rocket technology is the key to achieving the commercial goal of rocket delivery. ** At present, the cost of rocket delivery is too high, and can only be used in special scenarios such as large-scale material delivery for emergency rescue in the early stage. To reduce the cost of rocket launch, we must first achieve reuse. For example, 70% of the cost of a rocket is at one sub-level. After one sub-level is reused, the overall cost will be greatly reduced; Secondly, in reusable rockets, using stainless steel as the main material to replace traditional aluminum alloys can also greatly reduce rocket costs; Finally, in the future, rockets will be used as a conventional transportation tool with large demand, and automated and large-scale production will further reduce costs and increase efficiency.

Reusable rockets are one of the important development directions for future space exploration, with low cost, high efficiency and great technical difficulty. 作为该技术的先行者，SpaceX堪称屡败屡战，发射失利新闻屡见不鲜，说明了这一技术探索的难度之高和风险之大。中国的可重复使用火箭技术正处于追赶状态，目前已完成了可重复使用火箭垂直起降悬停试验，突破了可复用火箭的关键技术，4米级、5米级可重复使用火箭正在加速研制。对于这种面向未来的高难度技术探索，我们要有敢于冒风险的勇气，也要有能宽容失败的胸怀。

"Rockets deliver express delivery" is not a joke, nor is it easy. Achieving it requires overcoming many difficulties.

We look forward to this dream becoming a reality as soon as possible, so that technology that serves the sea of stars can enter the homes of ordinary people and become daily consumer products of the masses.