Launch
LandSpace
Beijing methalox launch company: first to put a methane-fuelled rocket in orbit in 2023, first to land a Chinese orbital-class booster in 2026, now filing for a 7.5 billion yuan Shanghai IPO.
LandSpace Technology Corporation is a Beijing rocket maker that Zhang Changwu founded in June 2015, in the first wave of Chinese companies allowed to build launch vehicles commercially. Zhang came out of banking rather than the state aerospace institutes, and he still runs the company as founder and chief executive, holding 6.7277 per cent of the shares directly and 75.2 per cent of the voting rights under an arrangement settled in 2021. The company works across the whole chain — research, manufacturing, testing and launch — around liquid oxygen and methane engines.
Its first rocket, the solid-fuelled Zhuque-1, failed on its only flight in October 2018 when a third-stage problem left a China Central Television satellite short of orbit. The methalox Zhuque-2 that followed also failed first time, in December 2022, after vernier engines were damaged during second-stage shutdown. Its second flight on 12 July 2023 reached orbit carrying no payload, making it the first methane-fuelled rocket anywhere to do so. The enhanced Zhuque-2E has flown since November 2024, though a flight on 15 August 2025 was lost when a second-stage voltage problem triggered the self-destruct system.
Zhuque-3 is the vehicle the company is betting on: 65.9 metres tall, 4.5 metres across, 550 tonnes at liftoff, with nine TQ-12A engines under a first stage built to fly again. It lifts 11,800 kg to a 450 km orbit expendable, or 8,000 kg with the booster brought back. The first flight on 3 December 2025 put its payload in orbit, but the booster crashed during the final phase of its landing. On the second, at 7:35 in the morning of 19 August 2026 Beijing time, the rocket released the Honghu 03 satellite and set its first stage down on legs at Minqin County in Gansu, about 390 kilometres downrange — the first Chinese orbital-class booster recovered on land.
The money has not arrived yet. Revenue was 780,000 yuan in 2022, 3.95 million yuan in 2023 and 4.278 million yuan in 2024, against operating expenses of 820 million yuan, 1.216 billion yuan and 916 million yuan in those same three years; losses across 2023 to 2025 came to about 3.8 billion yuan. The Shanghai Stock Exchange accepted a STAR Market listing application on 31 December 2025 seeking 7.5 billion yuan, most of it earmarked for Zhuque-3 improvements, an unnamed 10-metre-diameter rocket, and capacity for roughly 15 Zhuque-3 vehicles a year. The review was suspended and then restored to inquiry status on 29 June 2026, when the company said for the first time that it expects to turn profitable in 2029.
What they build and operate
- Zhuque-3 · Launch vehicle · Operational
Reusable two-stage methalox rocket, 65.9 m tall and 4.5 m in diameter with nine TQ-12A first-stage engines; 11,800 kg to a 450 km low Earth orbit expendable, or 8,000 kg with the booster recovered.[2] - Zhuque-2E · Launch vehicle · Operational
Enhanced Zhuque-2 without the second-stage vernier thrusters; first flew in November 2024, was lost to a self-destruct command in August 2025, and returned to flight in May 2026.[1] - Zhuque-2 · Launch vehicle
Liquid oxygen and methane launcher rated at 6,000 kg to a 200 km low Earth orbit or 4,000 kg to a 500 km sun-synchronous orbit; the first methane-fuelled rocket to reach orbit.[1][3] - Zhuque-1 · Launch vehicle
Three-stage solid-propellant rocket, 19 m tall and 1.35 m in diameter with a 27-tonne takeoff mass, rated at 300 kg to a 300 km low Earth orbit; flown once, unsuccessfully.[1] - TQ engine family · Engine · Operational
Liquid oxygen and methane engines built in-house, from the 80-tonne-class TQ engine behind Zhuque-2 to the TQ-12A first-stage and TQ-15A second-stage engines of Zhuque-3.[12][2]
Funding
- 2015 · Angel
10 million yuan — Creation Angels[8] - December 2019 · Strategic investment
500 million yuan — Country Garden Ventures[8] - September 2020 · Financing round
1.2 billion yuan[8] - December 2024 · Strategic investment
RMB 900 million — National Manufacturing Transformation and Upgrading Fund[6] - June 2025 · Pre-IPO
150 million yuan — BOC Asset, Legend Capital[8]
Milestones
- June 2015
Founded in Beijing by Zhang Changwu, among the first private commercial rocket companies in China.[1][12] - 27 October 2018
Zhuque-1 failed on its only flight from Jiuquan; a third-stage problem left the Weilai-1 satellite short of orbit.[1] - 14 December 2022
The first Zhuque-2 reached space but missed orbit after vernier engines failed during second-stage main-engine shutdown.[1] - 12 July 2023
Zhuque-2's second flight reached orbit from Jiuquan, the first methane-fuelled rocket anywhere to do so.[3][1] - 15 August 2025
A Zhuque-2E was destroyed with its satellites when a second-stage voltage issue triggered the self-destruct system.[1] - 03 December 2025
Zhuque-3's first flight delivered its payload to orbit, but the first-stage booster crashed during the final phase of the landing attempt.[2][1] - 31 December 2025
The Shanghai Stock Exchange accepted a STAR Market listing application seeking 7.5 billion yuan, the first Chinese aerospace filing through a fast-tracked route.[4][5] - 14 May 2026
Zhuque-2E returned to flight with a Block 2 variant after the August 2025 loss.[1] - 29 June 2026
Refiled its prospectus, moving the IPO review from suspended back to inquiry, and named 2029 as its first profitable year.[7] - 19 August 2026
Zhuque-3's second flight placed the Honghu 03 satellite in orbit and landed its first stage at Minqin County, Gansu — China's first recovery of an orbital-class booster on landing legs.[9][10][2]
Facilities
- Beijing headquarters · Yizhuang Economic and Technological Development Zone, Beijing
Company headquarters at H1, AVIC International Plaza, No. 13 Ronghua South Road, the address the company lists on its own About page.[12] - Huzhou engine test centre · Huzhou, Zhejiang
Thermal test stand for rocket engines, established in 2018 and described by the company as the first privately built one in China.[12] - Jiaxing intelligent manufacturing base · Jiaxing, Zhejiang
Rocket manufacturing base opened in 2021, reported as a $1.5 billion medium and large-scale liquid rocket assembly and test plant.[12][1] - Jiuquan methalox launch station · Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, Inner Mongolia, China
Dedicated liquid oxygen and methane launch station established in 2021.[12]
Leadership
Sources
WikipediaLandSpaceen.wikipedia.org
WikipediaZhuque-3en.wikipedia.org
Al JazeeraChina launches world's first methane-fuelled space rocketaljazeera.com
South China Morning PostChinese rocket firm LandSpace moves closer to US$1 billion IPO in Shanghaiscmp.com
China in SpaceLandSpace IPO Moves Forward With 7.5 Billion Yuan Planned to Be Raisedchina-in-space.com
China Biz InsiderLandSpace IPO: RMB 75B Valuation vs. RMB 4.8B Losseschinabizinsider.com
BigGo FinanceLandSpace Restarts STAR IPO After Three-Year Loss of 3.8 Billion Yuan, Pledges Profitability by 2029 for the First Timefinance.biggo.com
36KrChasing SpaceX: The Highly Anticipated Mega IPO Is Coming – What Investors Need to Knoweu.36kr.com
Tech StartupsChina's LandSpace lands reusable rocket booster, closing the gap with SpaceXtechstartups.com
Douglas MessierLandSpace: Zhuque-3 Launch Was Complete Successdouglasmmessier.substack.com
China in SpaceLandSpace Recovers China's Second Rocket Booster, Deploys Demo Satellite [Zhuque-3 Y2]china-in-space.com
LandSpaceAbout Uslandspace.com
Coverage of LandSpace
Launch
LandSpace lands Zhuque-3 booster after orbital launch
The Y2 flight put Honghu 03 into orbit and returned its first stage to a pad in Gansu. The landing proves recovery on this mission, not yet refurbishment or reflight.
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