Chinese Space Ambitions: IPOs Soaring or Just Grounded?

Chinese private company Landspace has received approval to initiate the initial public offering (IPO) process on the STAR Market technology board of the Shanghai Stock Exchange. Data from the exchange shows that Landspace Technology’s application was officially accepted on December 31. The company expects to raise around 7.5 billion yuan ($1.05 billion). The funds are planned to be directed towards the development and scaling of reusable rocket technologies. The acceptance of the application came shortly after Chinese regulators relaxed their IPO requirements for commercial space companies-the new rules were announced on December 26. Landspace became one of the first in China to access the public market. A few weeks prior, the company launched the Zhuque-3 rocket, during which the second stage was successfully placed in orbit. An attempt to vertically land the first stage on a sea platform failed shortly after the landing engine ignited. The next launch of Zhuque-3 is planned for the first half of 2026.

The flight history of Landspace remains limited. In 2018, the company conducted an unsuccessful launch of the solid-fuel Zhuque-1 rocket. The methane-fueled Zhuque-2 rocket has completed six flights, including launches in December 2022 and August 2025, some of which ended in failures. The only launch of Zhuque-3 in December occurred without a payload. Despite this, Landspace expects to secure contracts for launching satellites for China’s Guowang and Qianfan («Thousand Sails») megaconstellations, as well as for the Honghu-3 system. In China, reusable rockets are considered key infrastructure for the massive deployment of satellite constellations. Landspace is not the only company preparing for an IPO. CAS Space, Space Pioneer, and Galactic Energy have also filed for listings. All of them are developing reusable launch vehicles, with initial launches expected soon. Return of stages in debut missions is not planned yet.