HELSINKI – Astronstone, one of China’s young launch startups, has secured new funding for the maiden flight of its reusable AS-1 rocket.
Astronstone’s “Pre-A+” funding round was led by Hunan provincial government-affiliated investment firms Hillhouse Capital and Xingxiang Capital. Minghui Zhiyuan, Qiancheng Capital, Tuofeng Capital and Xisheng Ruiying also participated. The round represents a mix of financial, state and industrial capital, highlighting a broader pattern of mixed financial, state and industrial support in China’s commercial launch sector.
According to the company statement, the funding will be used for final assembly and testing of the rocket, validation of the “chopstick” recovery technology, expansion of rocket production capacity, and team growth.
Astronstone says it aims for the first flight of its two-stage AS-1 rocket in the first quarter of 2027, following planned test milestones, including a static fire of the first stage in 2026. The stainless steel, methane-liquid oxygen launcher is approximately 70 meters long and has a diameter of 4.2 meters. It claims a capacity of 15,700 kg in low Earth orbit when expendable and 10,000 kg when recovered. The company says it aims to provide cost-effective launch services for the commercial satellite market at about 20,000 yuan ($2,900) per kilogram.
In addition to the three initial rounds secured in 2025, the company says it has raised about 500 million yuan ($72 million) since its founding two years ago. Astronstone says its team is expected to grow to 170 people by March 2026, with research and development personnel making up more than 70 percent of this number. The goal is to expand to 300 people by the end of the year.
Investor statements described Astronstone’s stainless steel/methalox/reuse approach as well-chosen and key to succeeding in a highly competitive sector. Private equity firm Qiancheng Capital stated its confidence in the potential of space-based solar power and space computing infrastructure with low-cost, high-capacity rocket transportation capabilities. Xingxiang Capital expressed similar views in its statement.
Astronstone has made progress on the hardware, completing the second-stage static fire test campaign in December 2025 and claiming to be China’s first full-scale 100-ton-class “chopstick” capture arm ground test. It is also building out its industrial footprint with a Beijing research and development center, a test base in Hebei province and a partially operational production and assembly base in Hunan province.
The company is part of a new wave of launch startups in China that are abandoning the old approach of developing small or solid rockets first, and moving straight toward cutting-edge capabilities. Other early-stage entrants pursuing similar large, reusable Starship-like architectures include Nayuta Space and Cosmoleap.
China’s push for reusable launches is intensifying in both the state and commercial sectors and is based on demand from nascent national and commercial communications megaconstellation projects, as well as strong central government support.
The first launches of the reusable Long March 10B and Long March 12B are expected in the coming months. Long March 10A, also designed to be reusable and recovered using a drone ship and tether system, could launch later this year with the first full test orbital test of the new Mengzhu crewed spacecraft.
Other plans include Space Pioneers and CAS Space working toward first launches of new rockets in the near future. Deep Blue Nebula is preparing for suborbital launch and recovery testing of its Nebula-1 in the near future from new launch infrastructure on Lianli Island off the coast of Haiyang, which hosts China’s sea launch facilities. The company is working on a propulsion system for the larger Nebula-2.
In terms of commercial orbital recovery efforts, Landspace is expected to conduct a second launch and recovery attempt with its Zhuke-3 rocket shortly after April.
