Kinetica-1 solid launch vehicle; Kinetica-2 kerolox rocket; Liqing-series engines; Lihong-series vehicles
CAS Space (Zhongke Aerospace Technology Co., Ltd.) was founded in December 2018 as a spin-off from the Institute of Mechanics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. It is headquartered in Huangpu District, Guangzhou, with R&D centres in Beijing and Xi'an and more than 800 employees. Its workhorse Kinetica-1 solid rocket has flown multi-satellite rideshare missions since its 2022 debut; in May 2026 it became the first Chinese commercial rocket type to pass 100 satellites launched, reaching 110 by July 2026. Kinetica-2, a kerolox rocket, made a successful maiden flight on 30 March 2026 carrying the 4.2-tonne Qingzhou prototype cargo spacecraft among other payloads; it can lift 8 tonnes to sun-synchronous orbit and 12 tonnes to LEO, and the second vehicle left the factory in August 2026 for a launch planned in October. The company is also developing the 110-tonne-class Liqing-2 engine, the Lixun-1 upper stage and a reusable vehicle, and is building a production base at Guangzhou Aerospace Town. On the capital side, it signed a tutoring agreement with Guotai Haitong in August 2025, passed tutoring acceptance in January 2026, and had its STAR Market IPO application accepted by the Shanghai Stock Exchange on 31 March 2026 seeking RMB 4.18 billion; inquiry began on 15 April and the prospectus was updated on 29 June. Its most recent external equity round implied a post-money valuation of RMB 14.984 billion. Revenue for 2023, 2024 and 2025 was RMB 77.72 million, 244 million and 277 million respectively, with cumulative net losses of nearly RMB 2.5 billion over three years; management expects profitability in 2029–2030.
Kinetica-2 Y2 passed its factory acceptance review and is scheduled to launch in October 2026, positioned for large-scale LEO constellation deployment and low-cost cargo transport. (Publish time taken from date.)
Launched at 07:33 on 24 July from the Dongfeng commercial space innovation test zone carrying Chenguang-1, Gande-1 01, Xiguang-2 03, Jitian-A04 and Yinglong Fengguang-1; Kinetica-1 has now placed more than 16 tonnes of payload in orbit. (Publish time taken from date.)
The updated prospectus shows a RMB 4.18 billion fundraising target and a 2025 net loss attributable to shareholders of RMB 1.119 billion. Management expects profitability in 2029 under optimistic and neutral scenarios and 2030 under a conservative one.
Launched at 11:44 on 15 June from the Dongfeng commercial space innovation test zone carrying eight optical remote-sensing satellites including Wenwu-01, Caiyun Optical-01, Antie-03 and Lichuanhong; Kinetica-1 reached 105 satellites and over 15 tonnes of payload, with three launches in the second quarter.
Launched at 12:33 on 15 May from the Dongfeng commercial space innovation test zone carrying five satellites including Youxi-hao; Kinetica-1 reached 100 satellites and more than 18 tonnes of total payload. (Publish time taken from date.)
The Securities Association of China published its second 2026 random-inspection list; Unitree Robotics and CAS Space were the two companies drawn, one day after CAS Space's STAR Market application was accepted. (Publish time taken from date.)
Sponsor Guotai Haitong. The prospectus discloses a RMB 14.984 billion post-money valuation in the latest external round, an accumulated deficit of RMB 2.497 billion, and a maiden-flight schedule including Kinetica-2 Heavy (2028) and Kinetica-3 (2030).
Launched at 19:00 on 30 March from the Dongfeng commercial space innovation test zone, placing the Qingzhou prototype (Xinzhengcheng-02), Xinzhengcheng-01 and Tianshi-01 into their target orbits; twelfth launch of the Kinetica series. The 4.2-tonne Qingzhou spacecraft was built by the CAS Innovation Academy for Microsatellites. (Publish time taken from date.)
CAS Space's Lixun-1 upper stage completed a full-system integrated test with 566 seconds of cumulative firing and is ready to move to flight testing, with a maiden flight planned for the first quarter of 2027.