HELSINKI — Chinese launch startup Landspace has secured major funding from a state-backed investment initiative to boost its development of reusable launchers.
Landspace received 900 million yuan ($123 million) from China’s National Manufacturing Transformation and Upgrading Fund, according to Chinese media reports Dec. 25.
The company stated that the funds will primarily be used for the development, testing, and production of its Zhuque reusable methane-liquid oxygen launch vehicles.
In November Landspace successfully launched its first enhanced Zhuque-2 rocket, capable of launching 4,000 kg of payload to a 500-kilometer sun-synchronous orbit. That followed a 10-kilometer-altitude vertical liftoff, vertical landing test at Jiuquan spaceport in September for the much larger, stainless steel Zhuque-3 launcher.
Landspace is aiming for a first orbital launch of the Zhuque-3 in 2025. The first recovery and reuse of the first stage is to follow in 2026. The rocket, with its reusability and medium-lift capability, would greatly boost China’s ability to launch more mass to orbit and could play a big role in Chinese megaconstellation plans.
The two-stage rocket will be 4.5 meters in diameter and have a total length of 76.6 meters. Payload capacity to low Earth orbit (LEO) will be 21,000 kilograms when expendable. It will carry up to 18,300 kg when the first stage is recovered downrange. Alternatively, it can carry 12,500 kg when returning to the launch site. China’s current most capable rocket for LEO launches is the expendable Long March 5B which launches from Wenchang.
The funding is a major boost to Landspace, which previously raised $175 million in 2020. Other major Chinese launch startup funding rounds this year include Space Pioneer securing $207 million and Orienspace with $83.5 million. The companies are among an array of startups and state-owned entities developing reusable launches.
Landspace is one of the first launch startups to have emerged following a Chinese central government decision in late 2014 to open up portions of the space sector to private capital.
The company also announced earlier this month that it would begin launching cargo missions to the Tiangong space station starting in 2026. China’s human spaceflight agency, CMSEO, announced in October that two companies had been selected to develop low-cost, commercial cargo solutions for Tiangong.
The Fund backing Landspace was established in 2019 with a registered capital of 147.2 billion yuan ($20.95 billion). Its main objective is to invest in strategic areas including new materials and next-generation information technology. It is one fund among others as part of China’s industrial policy to transform Chinese manufacturing.
China is looking to provide greater support for its commercial space sector through policy changes, easing of licensing restrictions and increased access to resources.
The country’s central government last year designated commercial space as a strategic emerging sector for the first time. A number of Chinese provinces and cities have since introduced or are developing action plans to attract and nurture space companies and clusters.