Foreword:

The most thrilling moment in the rocket business has shifted from ignition to landing.

As the qualifying rounds conclude and the main competition begins, the space business in China is revealing its 'tiered' structure for the first time.

Author | Fang Wensan

Image Source | Internet

Scoring by 'Tons' and Ranking Second Globally

During the National Day holiday, the overseas space data platform FlightAtlas updated the annual rankings for civil-commercial rockets: As of September 28, there have been over 170 global space launches, with a total orbital mass nearing 1,900 tons.

SpaceX leads by a wide margin, with its Starship sending approximately 52 tons of payload into orbit in its 14th test flight; trailing closely in second place is CAS Space, with roots in the Chinese Academy of Sciences, having delivered about 9 tons of payload into orbit in the first three quarters, ranking first among domestic private firms and second globally among civil-commercial entities.

On the same leaderboard, Origin Space, LandSpace, and Galactic Energy have also successfully reached orbit, with four Chinese companies converging on someone else's scoreboard.

What makes this leaderboard unique is its scoring unit—Chinese commercial space achievements have long been counted by 'how many successful launches,' but this year, the metric has quietly shifted to transport capacity in tons.

On July 25, 2019, the Hyperbola-1 changed the private rocket's orbital record from zero to one; seven years later, Chinese contenders in this track ( track , meaning 'track' or 'field') rank second globally among civil-commercial entities by payload mass.

The gap is also reflected in the units—the Starship's orbital payload for a single mission is roughly five times more than those 9 tons.

Some Strive for Reusability, Others Start Anew

The first tier of the echelon ( echelon , meaning 'echelon' or 'tier') is built on the cash flow from solid rockets.

Galactic Energy's Ceres-1 is a workhorse among domestic private rockets—as of September 1, it has completed 22 orbital launches, delivering 89 satellites into orbit, with launch orders booked through 2028.

On September 1, the Pallas-1 lifted off. This 52-meter-long rocket, with a takeoff mass of about 283 tons, has a transport capacity of 5 to 7 tons. Its first stage is powered by seven parallel Cangqiong-50 liquid oxygen-kerosene engines, with 90% of its components 3D-printed, reducing the manufacturing cycle of its thrust chamber from months to just 45 days.

CAS Space's ForceArrow-1 takes a different approach, with 13 successful launches, 110 satellites, and a cumulative payload exceeding 16 tons, achieving a test-launch cycle compressed to just 10 days, backed by an annual production capacity of 30 solid rockets.

In March this year, the ForceArrow-2 made its maiden flight from the Dongfeng Commercial Space Innovation Test Zone, delivering the Xinzhengcheng 01, 02, and Tianshi 01 satellites into orbit.

This rocket, with a takeoff weight of 625 tons and a low-Earth orbit transport capacity of 12 tons, adopts a 'universal booster core' configuration—its core stage and boosters are identical, allowing for modular assembly. This design halves the onboard avionics equipment, reduces ground equipment by 80%, and cuts supporting costs by over 50%.

It also plans for 'cluster recovery,' where the boosters and core stage return together, with all nine engines coming home.

Origin Space's Gravity-1 is the world's largest solid-propellant launch vehicle, completing China's first private rocket launch from the Yangtze River Delta in July, delivering nine satellites in one go and setting new records for orbital weight and value in private commercial launches.

Solid rockets thrive on speed and stability; however, it is liquid rockets that hold the key to determining the tier rankings.

LandSpace has made the boldest moves. On December 3, 2025, the Zhuque-3 Y1 reached orbit; on August 19, the Y2 mission sent the 541 kg Honghu 03 satellite into orbit, with the first stage flying 390 km before achieving China's first land-based leg recovery of a launch vehicle's first stage.

Previously, only SpaceX, Blue Origin, and the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation had completed orbital-class first-stage recoveries—LandSpace became the fourth, while the global first sea-based net recovery by the Long March 10B on July 10 also came from China.

The first stage accounts for roughly 70% of a rocket's total cost, with fuel accounting for only 1%-3%. Reusability is the only way to significantly reduce costs; LandSpace's other innovation is its stainless-steel structure, with tank manufacturing costs 80% lower and production cycles 40% shorter than aluminum alloys.

Under tier differentiation, competition boils down to a triangular constraint: cost, frequency, and orders must all align.

Data released after the successful net recovery of the Long March 10B shows that the cost per kilogram to orbit could drop from 28,200 yuan to the range of 5,600-11,300 yuan, a reduction of 60%-80%.

Constellations of tens of thousands of satellites have strict deployment windows—launching a few per year versus dozens per year are two different businesses.

Galactic Energy chose a phased approach with the Pallas-1, prioritizing orbital entry before recovery, with recovery validation scheduled for the next two or three missions to enter commercial operations sooner. LandSpace, on the other hand, opted for recovery from the first flight, taking on greater risk for earlier closed loop ( closed loop , meaning 'closure' or 'loop closure').

Neither strategy is superior; both represent risk trade-offs under frequency pressure.

Solid rockets compete on delivery density, while liquid rockets compete on reusability. Currently, only LandSpace, Galactic Energy, and CAS Space have both product lines.

Origin Space is working on securing its fourth ticket—the main engine for the Gravity-2, the Yuanli-110 liquid oxygen-kerosene engine with a sea-level thrust of 110 tons, just completed a long-duration hot-fire test in Wuxi in late September, with the rocket expected to be ready for maiden flight in the fourth quarter.

i-Space faces a different situation. As the first private firm to reach orbit in 2019, its Hyperbola-3 has yet to fly, but funding has arrived. In February this year, it secured 5.037 billion yuan in Series D++ financing, setting a record for China's private commercial space industry. According to Shanghai Securities News, its pre-investment valuation has surpassed 20 billion yuan.

This 69.6-meter-long, 491-ton-takeoff-mass liquid oxygen-methane rocket will follow a 'land launch, sea recovery' approach, with plans to complete its maiden flight and orbital entry plus sea recovery this year. Also on the launch schedule for year-end is Arrow Yuan's YuanXingzhe-1.

Meanwhile, Space Pioneer, once the holder of 'China's first privately developed liquid rocket to reach orbit,' has faced setbacks with its large rockets. After a ground test accident in June 2024, it completed a nine-engine joint test of the first stage at sea in September 2025, secured nearly 2.5 billion yuan in financing in October, raising its valuation to 22.5 billion yuan—only to see the Tianlong-3 Y1 disintegrate in mid-air shortly after liftoff on April 3 this year.

Capital is ranking the tiers with real money—in the first half of this year, domestic commercial space disclosed 15.13 billion yuan in financing, with rockets accounting for 44%. On Hurun's 2026 Global Unicorn List, LandSpace is valued at 75 billion yuan, nearly tripling in a year, while CAS Space stands at 42 billion yuan.

The IPO queue is longer—LandSpace's STAR Market IPO has received inquiries, seeking to raise 7.5 billion yuan, with 2.77 billion for production capacity and 4.73 billion for technology. CAS Space aims to raise 4.18 billion yuan; by orbital payload mass, it holds about 63% of China's domestic private commercial rocket market in 2025. Galactic Energy, Space Pioneer, and i-Space are all on the Tutoring List ( Tutoring List , meaning 'coaching list' for IPO preparation), while Origin Space plans to complete joint-stock restructuring this year.

Nearly 30,000 Satellites Await Affordable Rockets

All these rankings hang under the same clock. International Telecommunication Union rules impose strict deadlines: after declaring a constellation, the first satellite must launch within seven years, 10% deployed within nine years, and 50% within twelve years—otherwise, the frequency and orbit resources expire.

China has declared constellations totaling approximately 203,000 satellites to the ITU. Faced with reality, the urgency is palpable.

The GW constellation, planned for 12,992 satellites, had 171-195 in orbit by late August, completing its seventh batch deployment of the year on August 16, with launch intervals compressed to about 12 days. The Qianfan constellation, with over 15,000 planned, has about 238 in orbit, aiming for 324 by year-end to complete Phase 1 global networking.

More satellites than rockets—this is the heartbeat of the current boom.

In the first half of this year, China conducted 44 space launches, delivering over 200 satellites into orbit, with commercial satellites accounting for over 90% and the two major constellations contributing about 60%. In 2025, a record 92 launches (50 commercial, over half) delivered 311 commercial satellites into orbit, accounting for 84% of the annual total.

The CCID Think Tank estimates China's commercial space market will reach 2.83 trillion yuan in 2025, up 21.7% year-on-year, and surge toward 3.5 trillion yuan in 2026.

China Galaxy Securities calculates that the manufacturing and launch market for the two major constellations will expand from 26.8 billion yuan in 2026 to 127.9 billion yuan in 2030.

Private rockets' role in this networking boom has evolved—the Zhuque-2 improved variant and Gravity-1 now regularly handle constellation networking tasks, transitioning from a supplementary force to a regular part of the national team.

Conclusion:

Tiers are another way of writing elimination rounds—four orbital entries mean the qualifying rounds are over. What comes next is a competition of who can fly cheaper, more frequently, and more reliably.

Orbital seats are priced by the ton, and frequency deadlines count down by the year. Only when rockets learn to come home does commercial space truly learn to go out.

Partial sources: Economic Reference: 'ForceArrow-1 Y18 launch vehicle successfully completes 'one rocket, nine satellites' mission,' Yicai: 'Gravity-1 Y3 launch success: 8 Qianfan constellation satellites reach orbit,' China Securities Journal: 'Over 30 satellites launched in a week as commercial space enters Intensive launch period ( Intensive launch period , meaning 'intense launch period'),' CCTV Finance: '70 rocket launches in China in the first three quarters, a new historical high'