Alibaba's Taobao e-commerce platform is exploring one-hour delivery with — wait for it — rocket.
Rocket deliveries in 1 hour? #alibaba #rocket delivery
You read that right. Beijing-based startup Space Epoch used its WeChat account to reveal the plan on Sunday, describing the 120 m3 cargo cabin mounted on its Yuanxingzhe 1 rocket. Taobao has reportedly confirmed that the alliance is real – despite Space Epoch's post coming just hours before April 1st.
Yuanxingzhe 1 has yet to fly, but its liquid-powered engine has been tested and Space Epoch has simulated recovery of the reusable craft after a water landing. The vessel has a diameter of four meters and a load capacity of ten tonnes.
An animation on Space Epoch's WeChat post shows a package being loaded onto a conveyor belt and loaded into a rocket, which takes off, reaches space, and takes about 25 minutes to travel from China's east coast to what appears to be the city of Urumqi in northwestern Xinjiang- the province.
