Cumulative financing totaling over CNY 2.3 billion in the past half year.
Recently, Shanghai Jianyuan Aerospace Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Space Epoch") completed changes to its business registration information, relocating its registered address to Qingpu, Shanghai.
Space Epoch is the first private enterprise in China to adopt the "stainless steel rocket body + liquid oxygen and methane" approach to develop medium-to-large reusable and recoverable launch vehicles.
In September this year, Space Epoch announced the completion of its Series B financing round, with cumulative financing totaling over CNY 2.3 billion in the past half year. The round was co-led by IDG Capital, Chaos Investment, Songyuan Capital, and others, with follow-on investments from institutions such as Hangzhou Capital, Heda Capital, Linglan Capital, Huafu Capital, Yida Capital, Shangshi Capital, and Renai Group. Existing shareholders including Jiuzhi Capital, Tianwen Shidai, and Jinsha Capital continued to increase their stakes. It is reported that the company's valuation has surpassed the unicorn level.
This financing will focus on supporting the maiden flight mission of "XZY-1", recovery and reuse verification, and the construction of commercial delivery capabilities. Currently, the company is advancing preparations for its first orbital launch, and "XZY-1" will be ready for its maiden flight by the end of 2026.
From the "National Team" to Private Aerospace
Wei Yi, founder and chairman of Space Epoch, holds a master's degree in Astronautical Propulsion Theory and Engineering from Beihang University, with a professional focus on rocket propulsion technology.
Wei Yi worked at the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation for 12 years, serving as a general model designer and launch commander. He fully participated in the development of China's new generation of launch vehicles and commanded over 20 cryogenic liquid rocket launch missions.
In 2014, the country opened the door of the aerospace industry to private capital. By 2018, the domestic commercial aerospace industry began to take shape, and Wei Yi knew the opportunity had arrived. He left the "national team" and joined Xingji Rongyao in a senior management position, subsequently founding Space Epoch in 2019.
In Wei Yi's view, the essence of a rocket is a "means of transportation". The primary task of commercial aerospace at present is to reduce the transportation cost from Earth to space through recovery and reuse. Reliability, strong contract fulfillment capability, and low cost are the three core elements he repeatedly emphasizes.
This low-cost reuse concept has been translated into a clear technical roadmap: an all-stainless steel rocket body, liquid oxygen and methane propellant, and a capture and recovery solution without landing legs.
Regarding the recovery method, Space Epoch is targeting the "chopstick catch" technology. This aims to eliminate the weight of landing legs and improve payload efficiency, but it places extremely high demands on hovering accuracy and the response speed of the tower's servo mechanisms.
Currently, only SpaceX's Starship has achieved "chopstick catch" recovery globally. The fourth flight of Starship successfully completed the first controlled splashdown of the first-stage booster at sea, and the fifth flight further achieved the first tower catch, iterating from sea splashdown recovery to the "chopstick catch".
Space Epoch is also adopting a phased approach: first verifying key flight control capabilities such as return guidance and deceleration hovering through sea splashdown recovery, and then iterating towards platform capture recovery. The sea flight recovery test completed in May 2025 is the first milestone on this path.
Based on currently publicly available technical solutions and engineering progress, among domestic commercial rocket enterprises choosing the "chopstick catch" recovery route, Space Epoch is the only one that has completed low-altitude deceleration hovering verification under real flight conditions and has entered the critical preparation stage for its maiden flight. It is expected to become the first domestic commercial rocket enterprise to achieve this recovery method.
This "steady" approach to work is directly related to the engineering background of the founding team. The core founding team of Space Epoch has long been engaged in the development and launch of launch vehicles, having experienced the complete engineering process from general design and ground testing to on-site launch. They are accustomed to the working methods of repeated testing, iteration, and problem resolution in the development of large rockets.
From Sea Recovery to Maiden Flight Preparation
On May 29, 2025, Space Epoch's "XZY-1" verification rocket completed its first sea recovery at the Oriental Spaceport and accurately splashed down in the designated sea area. After 18 hours, the "XZY-1" verification rocket was successfully salvaged, cleaned, and transported to the factory.
This test conducted real flight environment verification of key capabilities such as secondary ignition of the power system, return guidance control, low-altitude deceleration hovering, and sea recovery.
In July, Space Epoch inspected and evaluated core components such as the salvaged engines and servo mechanisms, determining that they met the conditions for reuse. The company successfully completed four ignition hot-fire tests using these "second-hand parts", with the recovered rocket body achieving "a reusable product value accounting for over 90% of the entire rocket".
These tests extended the verification scope from flight recovery to the use of recovered components, accumulating data for inspection processes and reuse solutions. Building on this, the company continues to advance the maiden flight preparation for the official model.
It is reported that the Y1 and Y2 rockets of "XZY-1" have completed over 30 key ground tests prior to the maiden flight. The company stated that the maiden flight rocket is consistent with subsequent commercially delivered rockets in terms of structure and technical solutions. After the maiden flight, the company will continue to promote recovery and reuse verification and transition to subsequent batch deliveries, with commercial launch services expected to commence within 2027.
Manufacturing capabilities supporting rocket development are also under construction. In January 2026, the final assembly, final testing, and recovery reuse base for Space Epoch's medium-to-large liquid launch vehicles broke ground in Qiantang District, Hangzhou. This is the first domestic production capacity base for sea-recovered and reused rockets, as well as the first stainless steel rocket gigafactory.
The total investment in the project is CNY 5.2 billion. It is planned to build a recovery and reuse center, an inspection and testing center, and a production and manufacturing center. Upon completion, it will have the scaled manufacturing capacity to produce 25 rockets per year, and achieve rapid inspection, maintenance, and reuse of rockets after recovery.
The planning of this base involves not only new rocket production but also post-recovery inspection, maintenance, and reuse. For reusable rockets, manufacturing and post-recovery preparation need to be seamlessly integrated to support continuous mission execution.
Accelerated Integration of Shanghai's Commercial Aerospace Industry Chain
For rockets to move from completing tests to continuously executing commercial missions, in addition to the enterprise's own development capabilities, joint support is required from satellite payloads, supporting suppliers, testing services, and launch guarantees. The agglomeration of Shanghai's commercial aerospace industry is driving closer connections among these segments.
On the demand side, the Qianfan Constellation, constructed and operated by Shanghai Yuanxin Satellite Technology Co., Ltd., continues to advance its networking. According to information released by the Songjiang District People's Government of Shanghai on September 17, 2026, following two consecutive launches from September 15 to 16, the number of satellites in the Qianfan Constellation increased to 256.
Constellation networking requires continuous and batch launch capacity supply. Whether the satellite production pace, rocket delivery cycle, and launch windows can match will affect subsequent deployment efficiency. Therefore, the agglomeration of satellite manufacturing and operating enterprises also provides a market foundation for rockets and related service enterprises to carry out business collaboration.
On the manufacturing and launch support side, Shanghai is connecting rocket final assembly, transportation, and sea launch through industrial space and infrastructure construction.
In August this year, the Lincang Road Wharf Project for the Commercial Aerospace Rocket Star City in Minhang District commenced construction, with a total investment of CNY 630 million, planned to be completed by the end of March 2027. The project undertakes functions such as rocket factory exit, loading onto ships, and river-sea intermodal transport, providing supporting infrastructure for the sea launch of large liquid rockets and the sea recovery of reusable launch vehicles.
The value of this agglomeration to commercial aerospace lies in increasing opportunities for industry chain collaboration. Rocket enterprises can connect with professional supporting and testing services around model requirements, satellite enterprises can seek suitable launch capabilities, and transportation and launch facilities provide conditions for the mission connection between the two. As cooperation continues, related enterprises are expected to gradually accumulate common engineering experience through project synergy.
Space Epoch's relocation to Shanghai adds a medium-to-large reusable rocket development enterprise to Shanghai's commercial aerospace industry. Its existing sea recovery tests and ongoing orbital launch preparations also give this newly added industrial entity in Shanghai a relatively clear product direction and engineering progress.
Text | Zhouyu Editor | Yida