New Rocket Model Fully Prepared for "Launch" – Multiple Positive Developments Continue to Ferment in Commercial Space

A series of new rocket models are ready to launch, promising to bring new momentum to the development of commercial spaceflight.

Shanghai Securities Journal reporters learned that the focus remains on the in-orbit deployment and recovery tests of reusable rockets. Once breakthroughs are achieved in technology, they will strongly promote industry growth. Meanwhile, the narrative of the space economy continues to expand.

Breakthroughs in Reusable Technology Become Industry Focus

In early March, CAS Space and Deep Blue Aerospace updated their rocket launch plans successively. CAS Space’s reusable liquid carrier rocket “Lijian-2” is scheduled for its maiden flight in late March, carrying China’s Qingzhou-1 cargo spacecraft prototype. It will later undertake satellite internet networking and major national missions, with four launch projects already approved this year.

Deep Blue Aerospace’s “Nebula-1” first “in-orbit + reusable” rocket has been assembled at Wuxi base since last year and is now standing at Shandong launch site. The first mission aims not only to reach orbit but also to attempt vertical recovery of the first stage.

Following the launch of China’s two reusable rockets, Zhuque-3 and Long March 12H-1, by the end of 2025, multiple types of reusable rockets’ in-orbit deployment and recovery tests this year have become industry’s most watched and critical progress.

Regarding the reasons, Wang Zijing, Assistant Director of Dongwu Securities Research Institute and Chief Analyst of Computing, said:

First, the commercial space sector has faced a “more satellites than rockets” dilemma—despite numerous satellite deployment plans, rocket supply has lagged. Breakthroughs in reusable rockets could significantly ease this supply-demand contradiction in terms of launch costs and frequency, laying a solid foundation for large-scale constellation deployment and subsequent commercial applications.

Second, technological breakthroughs will provide key prerequisites for the industry’s large-scale expansion. Once standardized technical solutions are established, they can rely on China’s strong manufacturing base for rapid replication and mass production, further driving the development of the upstream and downstream industrial chains of commercial space, and exerting broader economic impacts.

Finally, technological breakthroughs will attract more resources to the commercial space field, especially encouraging increased support from primary and secondary markets, further promoting industry growth.

Acceleration of Space Economy Narratives

Alongside reusable rockets, the global competition for low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite resources is also heating up—early 2026, China and the US each applied for 200,000 and 1 million satellite orbit slots respectively.

“In fact, the concept of LEO satellites is not new,” said Li Hanjun, Co-Director of the Songjiang Intelligent Industry Technology Research Institute in Shanghai. “As early as 1987, Motorola proposed building the world’s first commercial low Earth orbit satellite communication system—the Iridium system. Today, the competition for orbital resources is driven by SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet service, which has proven its strategic importance and profitability potential. The company surpassed 10 million users last year, fully demonstrating the commercial prospects of low Earth orbit satellite networks.”

At the MWC 2026 World Mobile Congress held in early March, SpaceX announced the launch of a new brand, Starlink Mobile, which focuses on satellite direct-to-phone services, marking a strategic shift from tablet users to mobile phones. Unlike tablets that require dedicated devices or fixed terminals, direct-to-phone technology could expand the user base to a massive scale of 4 billion terminals.

The space economy also encompasses broader narratives—space computing power, space tourism, space manufacturing, space mining… Scenes once only imagined in science fiction could become reality, nurturing trillion-yuan-level future industry tracks.

Wang Zijing believes that among these tracks, space tourism and space computing are progressing steadily: China has attempted to launch computing satellites in 2025; by 2028, commercial crewed spaceflight may conduct its first flight.

As for space infrastructure or space mining, although more distant, the imagination space is even broader. Wang Zijing explained with space mining as an example: previously, the Long March series rockets carried Chang’e probes that successfully returned lunar soil, which can be seen as a prototype of space mining. This indicates that the field is not out of reach, but future breakthroughs in technology are still needed.

Multiple Catalysts to Strengthen Market Confidence

Currently, commercial spaceflight is experiencing multiple catalysts that will boost market confidence.

At the policy level, the 2026 government work report first proposed “accelerating the development of satellite internet,” and listed aerospace as one of the emerging pillar industries. The 14th Five-Year Plan emphasizes “improving civil space infrastructure, coordinating the construction of satellite communication, navigation, and remote sensing systems, and accelerating the deployment of low Earth orbit satellite networks.”

On the business side, Lu Xianqing, senior investment advisor at Hui Zheng Finance, said that the investment logic in commercial space has shifted from theme-driven to performance-driven validation. Currently, China’s commercial launch costs have dropped significantly, launch cycles have shortened, and component supply has increased.

Technologically, besides the launch of new domestic rocket models, SpaceX plans to launch Starship V3 in April. If successful, it will once again break the limits of reusable rockets, greatly boosting industry prospects.

In terms of capital, according to industry estimates, leading domestic companies like LandSpace and CAS Space are already on the fast track to listing; SpaceX is expected to initiate an IPO mid-year, with a valuation potentially reaching $1.5 trillion. “These developments will not only attract global capital to the aerospace sector but also significantly raise the valuation center of related A-share companies,” Wang Zijing said.