LandSpace
Chinese commercial space company developing methane-fueled orbital launch vehicles and satellite launch services.
Last updated October 12, 2026
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Overview
LandSpace Technology Corporation, operating under the LandSpace brand, is a Beijing-based Chinese commercial space launch company founded in 2015 by Zhang Changwu. The company emerged after a 2014 Chinese policy change opened portions of the space sector to private capital and commercial participation. Its business is centered on the design, manufacture, testing, and operation of orbital launch vehicles, with an emphasis on liquid-propellant rockets and relatively lower-cost access to low Earth orbit and sun-synchronous orbit. LandSpace's first orbital vehicle was Zhuque-1, a three-stage solid-propellant rocket. Its maiden launch took place on 27 October 2018 from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. The vehicle's first and second stages and fairing separation reportedly performed as intended, but a problem involving the third stage prevented the Weilai-1 payload from reaching orbit. The mission was nevertheless significant as an early attempt by a Chinese private company to conduct an orbital launch. After the flight, uncertainty surrounding the supply of solid rocket motors contributed to LandSpace's decision to shift its main development effort toward liquid methane and liquid oxygen propulsion. The resulting Zhuque-2 program made LandSpace one of the most prominent private launch developers in China. Zhuque-2 uses liquid oxygen and methane, a propellant combination often called methalox. Its first flight, on 14 December 2022, failed to place its payload into orbit after a second-stage vernier-engine problem, although the vehicle reached space. On 12 July 2023, the second Zhuque-2 flight successfully reached orbit, making it the first methane-fueled orbital launch vehicle to do so. The mission carried no active payload. A third Zhuque-2 mission on 8 December 2023 successfully deployed three satellites into sun-synchronous orbit. LandSpace has also pursued a larger, partially reusable vehicle, Zhuque-3. The planned rocket is a stainless-steel, methane-fueled, two-stage launch vehicle designed to recover its first stage and support repeated use. Publicly described performance figures vary by configuration, but the vehicle is intended to provide substantially greater payload capacity than Zhuque-2, including missions to low Earth orbit in either expendable or recovery-assisted modes. A Zhuque-3 maiden flight described in the supplied reference material reached orbit on 3 December 2025, while its attempted first-stage landing failed after an abnormal combustion event during the landing burn. In addition to rocket development, LandSpace has built industrial capacity in Zhejiang. The company has established aerospace infrastructure including a medium- and large-scale liquid-rocket assembly and testing facility in Jiaxing and an intelligent manufacturing base in Huzhou. These facilities support the company's stated ambition to move beyond individual demonstration flights toward repeatable commercial launch operations. LandSpace competes in China's expanding commercial-space sector with firms including Galactic Energy, i-Space, OneSpace, LinkSpace, Deep Blue Aerospace, Space Pioneer, CAS Space, ExPace, and Space Epoch. The company remains privately held in the available reference material, and no reliable public information was provided concerning revenue, valuation, ownership percentages, or a stock listing.
History
LandSpace was established in 2015 during the early expansion of China's commercial-space industry. Its formation followed a 2014 policy change that enabled greater participation by private capital in space-related activities. The company was founded by Zhang Changwu and based in Beijing, where it began developing launch vehicles intended to serve the growing market for commercial satellite deployment. The company's initial orbital vehicle was Zhuque-1, also known as ZQ-1 or LS-1. It was a 19-meter, three-stage solid-propellant rocket designed for small-payload missions. LandSpace launched Zhuque-1 on 27 October 2018 from a mobile platform at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. The mission carried the Weilai-1 satellite for China Central Television. Although the early flight sequence and fairing separation were reported as successful, a third-stage issue caused the payload to miss orbit. The launch was historically important as one of the first orbital attempts by a Chinese private launch company, but the result exposed the technical and supply-chain challenges facing the nascent sector. Following the Zhuque-1 mission, LandSpace redirected its principal development effort toward a liquid-fueled vehicle. The company selected liquid oxygen and methane propulsion for Zhuque-2, a larger rocket intended for commercial orbital missions. The first Zhuque-2 launch took place on 14 December 2022. A failure involving second-stage vernier engines after shutdown of the main engine prevented orbital insertion, although the rocket became the first methane-fueled launch vehicle to reach space. LandSpace achieved a major breakthrough with Zhuque-2's second flight on 12 July 2023. The rocket reached orbit successfully and became the first methane-fueled orbital launch vehicle in the world. The mission did not carry an active payload, but it demonstrated the basic orbital capability of the vehicle and positioned LandSpace as a leading participant in the international development of methane-fueled launch systems. On 8 December 2023, the third Zhuque-2 mission successfully delivered three satellites into a sun-synchronous orbit, providing a further demonstration of operational capability. The company has simultaneously developed infrastructure intended to support larger-scale production. In Zhejiang, LandSpace established facilities including a medium- and large-scale liquid-rocket assembly and testing plant in Jiaxing and an intelligent manufacturing base in Huzhou. These sites are part of a broader effort to integrate engine production, vehicle assembly, testing, and launch preparation rather than rely solely on prototype development. LandSpace's next major vehicle is Zhuque-3, a larger stainless-steel, methane-fueled rocket designed with a recoverable first stage. The vehicle uses multiple Tianque-12 engines and is intended to support partial reusability, with the first stage designed for repeated flights. The supplied reference describes a Zhuque-3 maiden flight on 3 December 2025 that reached orbit but failed to recover the first stage after abnormal combustion during the landing burn. This event illustrates both the progress and the remaining engineering difficulty in combining orbital launch with controlled booster recovery. LandSpace operates in a competitive Chinese commercial-launch market alongside Galactic Energy, i-Space, OneSpace, LinkSpace, Deep Blue Aerospace, Space Pioneer, CAS Space, ExPace, and Space Epoch. Its distinguishing technical identity is its early focus on methane propulsion and the progression from a small solid rocket to larger liquid-fueled and potentially reusable launch vehicles. Available reference material does not establish a public listing, parent group, current financial performance, or detailed executive roster beyond the company's founder.
- 2025
Zhuque-3 reaches orbit
[1]The supplied reference reports that Zhuque-3 reaches orbit on its maiden flight, while its attempted first-stage landing fails during the landing burn.
- 2023
Zhuque-2 reaches orbit
[1]The second Zhuque-2 flight succeeds on 12 July, making the vehicle the first methane-fueled orbital launch vehicle in the world.
- 2023
Zhuque-2 deploys three satellites
[1]The third Zhuque-2 mission successfully places three satellites into sun-synchronous orbit on 8 December.
- 2022
Zhuque-2 reaches space on its first flight
[1]The first Zhuque-2 mission fails to achieve orbit but becomes the first methane-fueled launch vehicle to reach space.
- 2018
Zhuque-1 makes its maiden orbital attempt
[1]The solid-propellant Zhuque-1 launches from Jiuquan, but a third-stage problem prevents the Weilai-1 payload from reaching orbit.
- 2015
LandSpace is established
[1]LandSpace Technology Corporation is founded in Beijing by Zhang Changwu during the expansion of China's private commercial-space sector.
Products and positioning
Chinese commercial orbital-launch provider focused on methane-fueled rockets, scalable manufacturing, and lower-cost access to low Earth orbit.
Solid-propellant orbital launch vehicle · 2018
Zhuque-1
Zhuque-1, also known as ZQ-1, was a three-stage solid-propellant rocket approximately 19 meters tall and designed for small-payload missions. Its reported capacity was about 300 kilograms to a 300-kilometer low Earth orbit. The vehicle made its maiden launch from Jiuquan on 27 October 2018 carrying the Weilai-1 satellite. A third-stage problem prevented orbital insertion. After the mission, LandSpace shifted its primary attention toward methane-fueled liquid rockets.
Methane-fueled liquid orbital launch vehicle · 2022
Zhuque-2
Zhuque-2 is a medium-sized liquid-fueled rocket using liquid oxygen and methane. The vehicle is described as capable of carrying approximately 6,000 kilograms to a 200-kilometer low Earth orbit or about 4,000 kilograms to a 500-kilometer sun-synchronous orbit. Its first flight in December 2022 failed to reach orbit, while its second flight in July 2023 achieved orbit and established a global methane-launch milestone. A third mission in December 2023 successfully deployed three satellites.
Partially reusable methane-fueled orbital launch vehicle · 2025
Zhuque-3
Zhuque-3 is a larger two-stage stainless-steel rocket powered by liquid methane and liquid oxygen. Its planned architecture uses nine Tianque-12 engines and a recoverable first stage intended for repeated use. The supplied reference gives an approximate length of 66 meters for the original configuration, a diameter of 4.5 meters, and a low Earth orbit payload capacity of about 11.8 tonnes in expendable mode or 8 tonnes with first-stage recovery. A Zhuque-3E variant is described as a larger configuration with higher projected payload capacity.
Controversies
Brand decisions
2018
Shift from solid-propellant development toward methane propulsionStrategyBackground
Zhuque-1 failed to place its payload into orbit, and reports indicated uncertainty concerning the continuing supply of the solid rocket motor used by the vehicle.
Action taken
LandSpace redirected its principal launch-vehicle development effort toward the liquid-oxygen-and-methane Zhuque-2 program.
Aftermath
The change led to the Zhuque-2 series and ultimately to the first successful orbital flight by a methane-fueled launch vehicle.
Recent events
Blue Arrow Aerospace completes RMB 1.2 billion funding round[8]
Blue Arrow Aerospace completed a RMB 1.2 billion C+ funding round in September 2020. The company said the funds would support development of its Zhuque-2 liquid launch vehicle series.
Blue Arrow completes RMB 1.2 billion Series C+ funding round[9]
Blue Arrow announced that it completed a RMB 1.2 billion Series C+ funding round in September, led jointly by Sequoia Capital China Fund, Country Garden Venture Capital, and listed companies under Matrix Partners China and Cornerstone Capital.
Blue Arrow Aerospace completes RMB 500 million Series C funding round[10]
Reported:
Blue Arrow Aerospace completed a RMB 500 million Series C funding round, with Country Garden Venture Capital as the investor. The company said the funds would mainly support development and launch preparations for its Zhuque-2 liquid rocket and validation of rocket reusability technology.
Sources10 sources
- 1LandSpace - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
- 2LANDSPACE 蓝箭航天 official websitelandspace.com
- 3LANDSPACE 关于我们landspace.com
- 4LANDSPACE 产品与服务landspace.com
- 5LANDSPACE 关于我们landspace.com
- 6朱雀二号改进型遥三火箭发射失利jiemian.com
- 7朱雀二号改进型遥三火箭发射失利tech.cnr.cn
- 8蓝箭航天完成12亿元融资news.sciencenet.cn
- 9蓝箭航天完成12亿元C+轮融资sc.stock.cnfol.com
- 10蓝箭航天完成5亿元人民币C轮融资tech.sina.com.cn
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