The Huayi-1 suborbital rocket is prepared for its maiden flight at a testing field in northwestern China on Dec 17. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Sparkle-1, China's first commercial aerospace biological experimental payload, and the Agile Testbed experimental satellite were sent to an altitude of 250 kilometers by the Huayi-1 suborbital rocket on Dec 17.

Sparkle-1 was developed by Rocketpi (Taicang) Co for biological experiments in a micro-gravity environment.

A biological experimental payload designed by Rocketpi (Taicang) Co. [Photo/taicangdaily.com]

Rocketpi (Taicang) Co was registered in the Taicang High-Tech Industrial Development Zone with an investment of 1 billion yuan ($160 million). Over half of its staff members hold a master's degree or above.

According to the company, the design of Sparkle-2 will soon be finished and the Sparkle Series biological payloads will be loaded onto multiple commercial rockets in 2022.