New model rockets ready to "launch" — Multiple benefits in commercial spaceflight continue to unfold

A series of newly developed rocket models are fully assembled and ready to go, which is expected to bring new catalysts to the development of commercial space.

Shanghai Securities News reporter interviews have learned that the in-orbit and recovery test flights of reusable rockets remain the focus; once a technological breakthrough occurs, it will strongly promote industry development. At the same time, the narrative map of the space economy continues to expand.

Recoverable technology breakthroughs become an industry focus

In early March, CASC Space and Deep Blue Aerospace updated their rocket launch plans one after another. CASC Space’s recoverable liquid transport rocket “Lijian-2” plans its maiden flight in late March, which will carry the initial version of China’s cargo spacecraft “Qingzhou-1” for the launch. Going forward, it will also undertake tasks such as building a satellite internet network and major national missions; within the year, it has already been approved for 4 launch missions.

Deep Blue Aerospace’s first “Nebula-1” rocket with “in-orbit + recoverable” capabilities set off from its Wuxi base as early as last year, and it is currently standing at a launch site in Shandong. The inaugural mission will not only achieve insertion into orbit, but will also attempt vertical recovery of the first-stage rocket.

After China’s two types of reusable rockets—Queshue-3 and Long March 12A—launched their first flights at the end of 2025, this year’s in-orbit and recovery test flights for multiple types of reusable rockets have become the industry’s most watched and most critical progress.

When asked about the reasons, Wang Zijing, Assistant to the Director of the Research Institute and Chief Analyst for Computer Science at Dongwu Securities Research Institute, said:

First, in the past, commercial space faced the situation of “many satellites but too few rockets”—although there were many satellite launch plans, the supply scale of rockets could not keep up. If reusable rockets achieve a breakthrough, it can greatly ease the current supply-demand contradiction in terms of launch cost and launch frequency, thereby laying a solid foundation for large-scale constellation deployment and subsequent applications of commercial space.

Second, technological breakthroughs will provide key prerequisites for the scaled expansion of the entire industry. Once standardized technical solutions are formed, they can rely on China’s strong manufacturing base to achieve rapid replication and mass production, further driving the development of the upstream and downstream industrial chains of commercial space and producing broader economic stimulus effects.

Finally, technological breakthroughs will also attract more resources to focus on the commercial space sector, especially by guiding capital in both the primary and secondary markets to increase support for the industry, further promoting the industry’s growth.

The narrative of the space economy accelerates

As hot as reusable rockets is the global competition for low-Earth-orbit satellite resources—at the beginning of 2026, China and the United States applied for orbital resource rights for 200,000 satellites and 1 million satellites respectively.

“In fact, low-Earth-orbit satellites are not a new concept.” Li Hanjun, Co-Director of Shanghai Songjiang Xintong Intelligent Industry Technology Research Institute, said, “As early as 1987, Motorola proposed building the world’s first commercial low-Earth-orbit satellite communication system—the Iridium system. Today, the key reason for competition over orbital resources is that SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet service has demonstrated the strategic importance and profit potential of such networks. Last year, the company’s users exceeded 10 million, fully proving the commercial prospects of low-Earth-orbit satellite networks.”

At the MWC2026 World Mobile Communications Conference held in early March, SpaceX announced the launch of its new brand, Starlink Mobile (satellite direct-to-phone service), marking a comprehensive strategic shift of its business focus from tablet users to direct-to-phone connectivity. Tablet users need to carry dedicated tablet devices (or fixed terminals) to use the satellite network; with phone direct-connect technology, its user base is expected to expand to a massive scale of 4 billion terminals.

The space economy also has broader and grander narratives: space computing, space tourism, space manufacturing, and space mining… scenarios that once existed only in science fiction are expected to become reality, giving rise to future industrial tracks worth trillions of yuan.

Wang Zijing believes that among these tracks, space tourism and space computing are advancing steadily: in 2025, China already made attempts to launch computing-power satellites; in 2028, commercial crewed missions may conduct their first flights.

As for space infrastructure construction or space mining, although they are farther away, the imagination space is even broader. Wang Zijing explained using space mining as an example: previously, the Chang’e probes carried by Long March-series rockets have successfully returned lunar soil, which can be seen as a forerunner of space mining. This means the direction is not beyond reach, but in the future it will still be necessary to bridge the technological gap.

Multiple catalysts will strengthen market confidence

At present, commercial space is entering a period of multiple catalysts, which will strengthen market confidence.

On the policy front, the 2026 government work report first proposed “accelerating the development of satellite internet,” and listed aerospace and aviation as one of the new pillar industries. The outline of the “15th Five-Year Plan” proposes to “improve civilian space infrastructure, coordinate the construction of satellite communication, navigation, and remote sensing systems, and accelerate the formation of the low-Earth-orbit satellite internet network.”

On the business front, Lu Xianqing, a senior investment advisor at Hui Zheng Financial, said that the investment logic of commercial space has shifted from theme-driven to performance validation. Currently, China’s commercial space launch costs have declined significantly, the launch cycle has been shortened, and this is driving an increase in the volume of component supply.

On the technology front, besides the launches of new domestic rocket models, SpaceX also plans to launch the Starship V3 version in April; if successful, it will again break through the limits of reusable rockets’ capabilities, significantly boosting the industry outlook.

On the capital front, according to industry-estimated timelines, leading domestic companies including Blue Arrow Aerospace and CASC Space have already entered the listing “fast track”; SpaceX is expected to launch its IPO in the middle of the year, with an estimated valuation of up to 1.5 trillion. “These developments will not only attract global capital to focus on the space sector, but will also significantly raise the valuation center of A-share related companies,” Wang Zijing said.