China’s commercial space sector marked a definitive breakthrough Thursday as LandSpace Technology successfully launched an enhanced, long-body version of its Zhuque-2 rocket, signaling that the nation’s private sector is now capable of the heavy lifting required for massive satellite megaconstellations.
The Zhuque-2E Y5 rocket lifted off at 11:00 a.m. local time from the Dongfeng Commercial Space Innovation Trial Zone. The vehicle, powered by liquid oxygen and methane, a propellant favored by companies like SpaceX for its reusability potential, deployed a 2.8-ton experimental payload into a 900-kilometer orbit.
The success comes at a critical juncture for Beijing as China races to deploy its G60 and Spacesail constellations, which are planned to eventually total tens of thousands of satellites. The primary bottleneck has been a launch deficit, but LandSpace’s latest mission proves that private firms can now shoulder the engineering burden previously reserved for state-owned Long March rockets.
The Zhuque-2E represents a significant technical leap over its predecessors, measuring 55.9 meters in length with a takeoff mass of 267 tons. By lengthening the first-stage tanks and utilizing sub-cooled propellant technology, LandSpace increased propellant volume by 15 percent, allowing the rocket to carry 4 tons to Sun-synchronous orbit and 6 tons to low-Earth orbit. The mission also debuted a triple-ignition sequence for the second stage, allowing the rocket to deploy payloads at high altitudes and then perform a controlled de-orbit to mitigate space debris.
The rocket utilizes automated fault diagnosis and self-correcting thrust systems, and the company has compressed the launch preparation cycle to just 13 days with a pre-launch fueling process of only 90 minutes. Despite the successful launch, broader market jitters weighed on the sector as the Chinese Aerospace ETF 159267 fell 2.9 percent on Thursday. However, investor interest remains high, with the ETF seeing its shares grow by nearly 250 percent this year as capital bets on the 15th Five-Year Plan, which prioritizes low-orbit satellite networking. Industry analysts at Avic Securities and Kaiyuan Securities suggested to local Chinese media that China’s commercial space industry is transitioning from technical verification to large-scale application. To meet the projected demand for launching roughly 220,000 satellites over the next decade, analysts estimate China will need to produce approximately 500 medium-to-large rockets annually.
The next major milestone for LandSpace is the Zhuque-3, a fully reusable stainless-steel methane rocket. The company plans to conduct a second recovery test in the first half of 2026 with a goal of achieving a full reuse flight by the fourth quarter. LandSpace is not alone in this race, as several rocket super factories are coming online this year to address the capacity crunch.
CAS Space recently completed its facility in Shaoxing, capable of producing up to 20 liquid rockets per year, while Galactic Energy is targeting its first Pallas-1 reusable rocket launch by year-end. Additionally, i-Space is planning the maiden flight and sea-based recovery of its Hyperbola-3 reusable rocket for late 2026. As Shanghai establishes new sea-based launch platforms and Beijing offers fresh policy support for satellite internet, the structural launch deficit that has long constrained China’s space ambitions appears likely to ease by 2027.
For global competitors, the message from the Jiuquan desert is clear: China’s private sector has moved past the experimental phase and is now building the industrial backbone for a sovereign orbital infrastructure.