Commercial aerospace companies accelerate their IPOs: LandSpace's IPO application accepted, trillion-dollar industry welcomes policy "tailwind"

Recently, the Shanghai Stock Exchange official website showed that Blue Arrow Space Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Blue Arrow Space”) has its Sci-Tech Innovation Board listing application accepted. The company plans to raise 7.5 billion yuan, with China International Capital Corporation serving as the sponsor.

Since 2025, a race to become the “First Stock in Commercial Space” has quietly begun. According to incomplete statistics, several companies including GalaxySpace, Galaxy Dynamics, Tianbing Technology, and China Academy of Space Technology have disclosed progress in IPO guidance, aiming to list on the A-shares market; Guoxing Aerospace and Fuxin Futong are eyeing the Hong Kong stock market.

The pace of listing commercial space companies is accelerating, aligning with the policies supporting “hard technology” in the capital market. On December 26, 2025, the Shanghai Stock Exchange issued the “Guidelines for the Application of the 9th Version of the Listing Review Rules—Applicable to Commercial Rocket Companies on the Sci-Tech Innovation Board” (hereinafter referred to as the “Guidelines”), supporting commercial rocket companies in the critical period of large-scale commercialization to list on the STAR Market under the fifth set of listing standards.

Under the resonance of policies and industry, commercial space has been placed under the “spotlight” of the capital market. CITIC Securities’ research report states that the release of the “Guidelines” marks the official opening of the channel for commercial rocket companies to access the capital market and clarifies the standards comprehensively. Emphasizing “undertaking national tasks, participating in national engineering projects,” “reusable technology,” and “industry position,” the IPO process for leading private commercial rocket companies may accelerate.

First Case Under the Expanded Fifth Set of Listing Standards on the STAR Market

As a core segment in the middle stream of commercial space, the development and launch of commercial rockets are affected by factors such as high product technical complexity, large capital investment, and long R&D cycles, leading to a common phenomenon of delayed profitability, often making it difficult to meet traditional listing standards’ requirements for revenue and profitability. The release of the “Guidelines” provides clear guidance for high-quality commercial rocket companies that have not yet achieved a certain revenue scale to access the capital market.

The “Guidelines” specify detailed requirements for commercial rocket companies applying under the fifth set of STAR Market listing standards, including scope of business, “hard technology” attributes, and achievement standards. Companies must have obvious advantages in key core technologies and demonstrate “initial success in using reusable technology for medium and large launch vehicles to achieve orbiting payloads.”

Guolian Minsheng Securities pointed out that the implementation of the “Guidelines” will further standardize the listing process for commercial space companies, help industry leaders accelerate their entry into the capital market, and drive technological iteration and industrial scale development, potentially catalyzing a valuation re-rating of the commercial space sector.

Just four days after the policy was announced, Blue Arrow Space quickly submitted its IPO application, which was accepted. The company is also the first to be accepted after the expansion of the fifth set of standards to the commercial space field, attracting market attention.

According to the prospectus, Blue Arrow Space mainly engages in the research and development, production, and provision of commercial space rocket launch services for liquid oxygen-methane engines and launch vehicles. The company has built a comprehensive technical system integrating R&D design, manufacturing, testing, and launch recovery, and has completed key technological breakthroughs for reusable launch vehicles based on stainless steel airframes and liquid oxygen-methane propulsion systems.

The fifth set of listing standards on the STAR Market does not impose revenue or net profit limits but emphasizes “large market potential” and “phase achievements.” Regarding product development progress and phase results, Blue Arrow Space states that in July 2023, it achieved the world’s first successful orbit insertion of a liquid oxygen-methane rocket, and in December 2025, it successfully orbited China’s first reusable liquid oxygen-methane rocket.

During the reporting period, the company successfully executed four liquid-fuel launch missions. Zhuque-2 has become China’s first liquid-fuel rocket to enter mass production and commercial use. Zhuque-3 has become China’s first reusable launch vehicle to be launched and successfully orbit its payload.

While achieving multiple technological breakthroughs, Blue Arrow Space faces profitability challenges due to high R&D costs. From 2022 to 2024 and the first half of 2025, the company’s revenue was 782,900 yuan, 3.95 million yuan, 4.28 million yuan, and 36.43 million yuan, respectively; net losses attributable to parent were 805 million yuan, 1.188 billion yuan, 876 million yuan, and 597 million yuan; net cash flow from operating activities was -730 million yuan, -809 million yuan, -1.141 billion yuan, and -622 million yuan.

Regarding the lack of profitability, Blue Arrow Space explained that this is mainly because the Zhuque series liquid oxygen-methane launch vehicles are still in the early stage of commercial launch, with small and unstable launch service revenue that cannot cover costs; additionally, aerospace equipment is a technology-intensive industry, requiring continuous high R&D investment to maintain technological leadership, resulting in high R&D expenses.

For this IPO, Blue Arrow Space plans to raise 7.5 billion yuan, with 2.77 billion yuan allocated to the reusable rocket capacity enhancement project and 4.73 billion yuan to the reusable rocket technology improvement project. The company states that the projects will help expand the scale production of space launch vehicles, meet the growing satellite launch market demand, and build core capabilities and intellectual property rights systems.

Leading Companies Accelerate IPOs

In 2025, commercial space is booming, injecting strong momentum into China’s space industry. According to CCTV News, in 2025, China achieved multiple breakthroughs in manned spaceflight, deep space exploration, and commercial space, with several firsts. The total number of launches in China reached 92, a record high.

Meanwhile, investment and financing in commercial space remain hot. The “China Commercial Space Industry Research Report” shows that in 2025, the industry scale reached 2.8 trillion yuan, with total financing of 18.6 billion yuan, up 32% year-on-year. The rocket manufacturing sector received 6.71 billion yuan, and satellite manufacturing 3 billion yuan, making them the two largest segments in terms of financing.

In the primary market, commercial space companies are accelerating capitalization. According to incomplete statistics, several companies including GalaxySpace, Galaxy Dynamics, Tianbing Technology, China Academy of Space Technology, Yixin Aerospace, iStar, and Micro-Nano Starry Sky are in guidance stages for IPO, aiming for A-share listing; Guoxing Aerospace and Fuxin Futong plan to list on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

These companies mainly come from three segments: rocket manufacturing, satellite manufacturing, and space services. Five focus on launch vehicles and have clear plans to list on the A-shares market. Among them, Blue Arrow Space’s application has been accepted, while others are still in guidance.

Public information shows that GalaxySpace started guidance for listing on the STAR Market in December 2020. Technologically, in 2019, its self-developed Hyperbolic No. 1 launch vehicle (SQX-1) successfully flew for the first time, becoming China’s first private commercial launch vehicle to reach orbit. In the reusable rocket field, GalaxySpace’s Hyperbolic No. 3 reusable launch vehicle is expected to fly for the first time this year.

China Academy of Space Technology, Tianbing Technology, and Galaxy Dynamics have completed guidance filings since the second half of 2025. China Academy of Space Technology, spun off from the Institute of Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, has sent 84 satellites into precise orbit with the LiJian-1, with a total payload mass over 11 tons.

Tianbing Technology is China’s first company dedicated to developing liquid rocket engines and medium-to-large liquid launch vehicles. According to its official WeChat, in April 2023, its independently developed Tianlong-2 medium liquid launch vehicle successfully flew for the first time; in September 2025, it completed sea trials of the first-stage propulsion system of Tianlong-3 large liquid launch vehicle at Haoyang, Shandong, setting a domestic record for liquid engine thrust.

Galaxy Dynamics, founded in 2018, mainly provides efficient and reliable launch services for domestic and international space clients, with core products including the “Zhishen Star” series of medium-large reusable liquid launch vehicles and the “Gushen Star” series of small solid launch vehicles.

Amid the vigorous development of commercial space, these companies have also attracted significant capital. Public data shows that Galaxy Dynamics completed a Series D financing of 2.4 billion yuan in September 2025; in the same month, GalaxySpace announced a Series D+ financing, with an initial 700 million yuan; in October, Tianbing Technology announced nearly 2.5 billion yuan in Pre-D and D round additional funding.

In satellite development, Micro-Nano Starry Sky, Guoxing Aerospace, and Yixin Aerospace are also accelerating toward the capital market. Micro-Nano Starry Sky is a satellite unicorn mainly engaged in satellite constellation and ground station product R&D and manufacturing; Guoxing Aerospace focuses on satellite and related services and space-based solutions; Yixin Aerospace mainly develops small satellite payloads, control, communication products, and ground control systems.

Technological Progress and Policy Guidance Support Commercial Space “Soaring”

The intensive IPO pursuits of commercial space companies are driven by technological breakthroughs and continuous policy support.

In 2023, the Central Economic Work Conference explicitly identified commercial space as a strategic emerging industry; it was included in the State Council’s government work reports in 2024 and 2025; the “14th Five-Year Plan” explicitly proposed accelerating the construction of a space power.

In November 2025, the China National Space Administration issued the “Action Plan for Promoting High-Quality and Safe Development of Commercial Space (2025–2027),” integrating commercial space into the overall national space development plan and setting a goal to “basically achieve high-quality development of commercial space by 2027.” Subsequently, CNSA announced the establishment of a dedicated Commercial Space Department, marking the industry’s move toward dedicated regulation.

Many local governments have also introduced supportive policies, creating a favorable environment for the industry. For example, the Shandong Provincial Government Office issued “Measures to Accelerate the High-Quality Development of the Commercial Space Industry,” aiming to reach an annual capacity of 100 launch vehicles and 150 commercial satellites by 2027, with an industry scale of 500 billion yuan, establishing a nationally influential high-quality development highland.

On January 8, the Guangzhou Municipal Government Office released the “Guangzhou City Plan for Accelerating the Construction of an Advanced Manufacturing Power (2024–2035),” aiming to build a globally influential new Chinese commercial space hub by 2035. Focused on breakthroughs in reusable rocket technology, it aims to provide a solid foundation for medium and large liquid rockets and will be open to national research institutes, enterprises, and universities.

Market consensus holds that under the dual drive of policy support and technological breakthroughs, the commercial space industry is entering an explosive growth phase.

CITIC Securities’ research report indicates that China’s commercial space is transitioning from the “exploration and verification” stage to the “growth explosion” phase, with a key industry inflection point. Looking ahead, as policies and industry systems improve, China’s high-frequency rocket launch capacity and mass production of satellites are expected to significantly increase.

Dongxing Securities pointed out that commercial space will become an important engine for promoting new productive forces and high-quality technological development domestically. To secure valuable orbital and spectrum resources, China’s constellation satellite launches are expected to accelerate further in 2026; private commercial rocket companies are expected to deepen participation, effectively supplement the national team, and jointly support high-frequency launch demands.