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 Aerospace Space Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Blue Arrow Aerospace”) has its application for listing on the STAR Market accepted. The company plans to raise 7.5 billion yuan, with China International Capital Corporation serving as the sponsor.

Since 2025, a race to compete for the title of “First Commercial Space Stock” has quietly begun. According to incomplete statistics, several companies such as GalaxySpace, Galaxy Dynamics, Tianbing Technology, and CAS Space 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 commercial space companies going public is accelerating, aligning with the policy rhythm of the capital market supporting “hard technology.” On December 26, 2025, the Shanghai Stock Exchange issued the “Guidelines for the Application of the Shanghai Stock Exchange’s Listing Review Rules No. 9—Applicable Standards for 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 STAR Market Listing Standards

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 general delay in profitability cycles for related companies, 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 standards, including scope of business, “hard technology” attributes, and achievement standards. It clarifies that companies must have significant advantages in key core technologies and, at the time of application, have “achieved phased results such as the first successful orbit insertion of medium-to-large reusable launch vehicles utilizing reusable technology.”

Guolian Minsheng Securities pointed out that the implementation of the “Guidelines” by the Shanghai Stock Exchange 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 revaluation of the commercial space sector.

Just four days after the policy was announced, Blue Arrow Aerospace 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 Aerospace mainly engages in the research and development, production of liquid oxygen-methane engines, and launch services for commercial rockets. The company has built a comprehensive technical capability 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 STAR Market listing standards does not impose revenue or net profit limits but emphasizes “large market space” and “phase achievements.” Regarding product development progress and phased results, Blue Arrow Aerospace states that in July 2023, it successfully launched the world’s first liquid oxygen-methane rocket into orbit, and in December 2025, China’s first liquid oxygen-methane reusable rocket successfully entered orbit.

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 inserted.

While achieving multiple technological breakthroughs, Blue Arrow Aerospace 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; 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 Aerospace 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, and the company maintains high R&D investment to ensure technological advancement, resulting in high R&D expenses.

For this IPO, Blue Arrow Aerospace plans to raise 7.5 billion yuan, of which 2.77 billion yuan will be used for the reusable rocket capacity enhancement project, and 4.73 billion yuan for 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 intensify their push for listing

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 the commercial space sector 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.

As the primary market heats up, commercial space companies are accelerating their capitalization. According to incomplete statistics, several companies such as GalaxySpace, Galaxy Dynamics, Tianbing Technology, CAS Space, Yixin Aerospace, iStar, and MicroNanoStar are in guidance stages for listing, aiming for A-shares; 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, all aiming to list on the A-shares market. Among their progress, aside from Blue Arrow Aerospace’s accepted application on the STAR Market, others are still in guidance stages.

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 maidened, 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.

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

Tianbing Technology is China’s first company focused on 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 maidened; in September 2025, the company completed sea trials of the first-stage propulsion system of Tianlong-3 large liquid launch vehicle at Dongfang Aerospace Port, 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-to-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, MicroNanoStar, Guoxing Aerospace, and Yixin Aerospace are also accelerating toward the capital market. MicroNanoStar is a satellite unicorn mainly engaged in satellite assembly and ground station product R&D and manufacturing; Guoxing Aerospace focuses on satellites, related services, and star-based solutions; Yixin Aerospace mainly develops small satellite payloads, control, communication products, and ground control systems.

Technological progress and policy guidance support the “high-flying” of commercial space

The intensive IPO push by commercial space companies is not only due to technological breakthroughs but also closely related to continuous policy support.

In 2023, the Central Economic Work Conference explicitly listed commercial space as a strategic emerging industry; in 2024 and 2025, commercial space was included in the State Council’s government work reports; 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),” explicitly incorporating commercial space into the overall national space development layout and setting a goal to “basically achieve high-quality development of commercial space by 2027.” Subsequently, the CNSA announced the establishment of a Commercial Space Department, with related activities gradually underway, marking the arrival of a dedicated regulatory body for China’s commercial space industry.

Many regions have also introduced supporting policies, creating a favorable environment for the development of commercial space. For example, the General Office of Shandong Provincial Government issued the “Measures for Accelerating 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, building a nationally influential high-quality commercial space development highland.

On January 8, the General Office of Guangzhou Municipal Government released the “Guangzhou City Plan for Accelerating the Construction of an Advanced Manufacturing Power (2024–2035),” proposing to build a new China commercial space hub with global influence by 2035. Focused on key technologies such as reusable rockets, it aims to provide a solid foundation for the development of medium-to-large liquid rockets and will be open to national research institutes, enterprises, and universities for sharing.

Market consensus holds that under the dual drive of policy support and technological breakthroughs, the commercial space industry is accelerating toward 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” period, with a key development inflection point. Looking ahead, as policies and industry systems improve, China’s high-frequency rocket launch capacity and large-scale satellite production 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 further accelerate in 2026; private commercial rocket companies are expected to deepen participation, effectively supplementing the national team, and jointly supporting high-frequency launch demands.