CAS Space's IPO Approved, Changing the Competitive Landscape of the "First Stock" in Commercial Spaceflight

Ask AI · How will Zhongke Aerospace’s IPO acceptance reshape the competitive landscape in commercial space?

Southern Finance Reporter Yang Qixin Guangzhou report

At 19:00 on March 30, Zhongke Aerospace’s Yijian-2 Yao-1 launch vehicle was successfully launched in the Dongfeng commercial aerospace innovation test zone, and the Chingzhou initial prototype test flight spacecraft (New Journey 02 satellite), the New Journey 01 satellite, and the Tian Shi satellite 01 were precisely inserted into their planned orbits.

With the launch success’s residual heat not yet gone, good news from the capital markets followed one after another. On March 31, the official website of the Shanghai Stock Exchange showed that Zhongke Aerospace Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter “Zhongke Aerospace”) had officially changed its Sci-Tech Innovation Board (STAR Market) IPO status to “Accepted,” and the sponsor was Guotai Haitong.

Notably, on the very same day Zhongke Aerospace’s IPO was accepted, the industry’s competitive landscape saw a subtle change. On March 31, the SSE’s official website also updated information showing that Blue Arrow Aerospace Space Technology Co., Ltd. (abbreviated as “Blue Arrow Aerospace”) had changed its STAR Market IPO audit status to “Suspended,” and the reason for suspension was that its financial materials had passed their validity period. Tracing Blue Arrow Aerospace’s path to listing, it received IPO acceptance on December 31, 2025, was selected for an on-site inspection on January 5, 2026, and received audit inquiry letters on January 22. Within just 3 months, it fell into audit stagnation due to expired financial materials, unexpectedly obstructing its listing process.

In response, investment banking professionals from Guotai Haitong told Southern Finance reporter that, as Zhongke Aerospace’s IPO is smoothly accepted and Blue Arrow Aerospace’s IPO review is suspended, Zhongke Aerospace now has the advantage of overtaking Blue Arrow Aerospace and being among the first to list on the capital market. It is expected to become China’s “first commercial space company,” filling the listing gap in the private commercial launch vehicle rocket sector.

The prospectus shows that Zhongke Aerospace was established in Guangzhou in December 2018. The company mainly engages in R&D, production, and launch services for a series of large- and medium-sized commercial launch vehicle rockets, and it also develops new space-economy business formats such as space manufacturing, space science experiments, and space tourism. Among them, the company’s core advantages are concentrated in the launch vehicle rocket field. Not only is it currently the only private commercial rocket company in China that has achieved launch services for overseas satellites, but it also holds a leading position in the large launch vehicle rocket segment.

As early as November 2024, Zhongke Aerospace completed China’s first launch service by a commercial space company for international users through the Yijian-1 Yao-5 launch vehicle. By December 31, 2025, the company had cumulatively served 6 international satellite customers, and its launch services business covered multiple regions including North America, South Asia, the Middle East, and Africa.

According to Frost & Sullivan data, the domestic private commercial launch vehicle rocket sector has now formed a competitive pattern with multiple strong players. Leading companies such as Zhongke Aerospace, Galaxy Power, Blue Arrow Aerospace, Interstellar Glory, Dongfang Space, and Tianbing Technology have all achieved successful rocket launches into orbit.

However, among companies that have successfully inserted large liquid rockets into orbit, currently only Zhongke Aerospace’s Yijian-2, Tianbing Technology’s Tianlong-2, and Blue Arrow Aerospace’s three series products—Zhuque-2, Zhuque-2 E, and Zhuque-3—are involved.

Among them, Zhongke Aerospace’s Yijian-2, as China’s first launch vehicle rocket in the “Universal Booster Core” (CBC) configuration, has stronger launch capability and flexibility. Its payload delivery capacity to a 500-kilometer sun-synchronous orbit is 8 tons, and its payload delivery capacity to a 200-kilometer low Earth orbit is 12 tons. It can achieve flexible configurations of 0/2/4 bundled configurations, adapting to different launch requirements.

In terms of performance and market performance, Zhongke Aerospace’s leading position in the industry has continued to be consolidated. By the end of 2025, Zhongke Aerospace’s cumulative launched payload weight exceeded 11 tons, ranking first among China’s private commercial launch vehicle rocket companies. The company’s main order types cover commercial orders, orders from scientific research institutions, national mission orders, and overseas orders.

With the core product advantages of “large lift capacity, low cost, high launch frequency, and high reliability,” Zhongke Aerospace has become the leading enterprise in China’s commercial rocket sector. In 2024 and 2025, the company’s market share in China’s private commercial rocket market, calculated by launched payload weight, was approximately 50% and 63%, respectively. Its launched payload weight and scale of operating revenue ranked first in the domestic private commercial launch vehicle rocket industry.

As of the date the prospectus was signed, Yijian-1 has completed 10 successful launches, delivering 84 satellites and more than 11 tons of payload into their planned orbits, and it is one of the most mature commercially operated launch vehicle rocket products in China.

For this IPO, Zhongke Aerospace plans to issue and raise RMB 41.8 billion. The proceeds will be used for the development of reusable large launch vehicles, the development of reusable launch vehicles and spacecraft, the construction of an industrial base for reusable liquid engines, as well as repaying bank loans and replenishing working capital.

However, it is necessary to note that Zhongke Aerospace has not yet achieved profitability. In 2022, 2023, 2024, and January–September 2025, the company’s operating revenue was approximately RMB 5.9529 million, RMB 77.7210 million, RMB 244 million, and RMB 84.2239 million, respectively; in the same period, the company recorded net losses of approximately RMB 1.761 billion, RMB 512 million, RMB 861 million, and RMB 749 million, respectively. As of the end of the reporting period, cumulative unrecouped losses under the consolidated basis were RMB 2.497 billion.

In response, Zhongke Aerospace stated that, because the company’s products have not yet achieved large-scale mass production, and also due to factors such as the high intensity of R&D investment and a large amount of share-based payment, the company has not been profitable during the reporting period. The company expects that, after the IPO and listing, the cumulative unrecouped losses shown on the books will continue to exist, and it will be unable to pay cash dividends in the short term.

Against this backdrop, the company has chosen to apply the second set of listing standards for the Sci-Tech Innovation Board, namely: “the expected market value is no less than RMB 1.5 billion, the operating revenue in the most recent year is no less than RMB 200 million, and the proportion of cumulative R&D investment over the most recent three years to cumulative operating revenue over the most recent three years is no less than 15%.”

From the various indicators, Zhongke Aerospace fully meets the above listing standards. The prospectus shows that the post-investment valuation corresponding to the company’s most recent external equity financing was RMB 14.984 billion, far above the minimum requirement of RMB 1.5 billion. In fiscal year 2024, the company achieved operating revenue of RMB 244 million, meeting the condition that “operating revenue in the most recent year is no less than RMB 200 million.” From 2022 to 2024, cumulative R&D investment as a proportion of cumulative operating revenue was 184.05%, far exceeding the minimum standard of 15%.

Looking ahead, with Blue Arrow Aerospace’s listing process temporarily obstructed, Zhongke Aerospace’s probability of pursuing “China’s first commercial space company” will increase significantly, and it may further shift the industry’s focus from tackling recoverable technology to competition in commercialized implementation characterized by large lift capacity, low cost, and high launch frequency.