CASC
Wu Yansheng (Chairman)
Overview
China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) is the state-owned prime contractor for China's space program and the world's most prolific launch organization by missions flown. Wholly owned by the central government through SASAC, it develops and operates the Long March (Changzheng) rocket family — which passed its 600th launch in October 2025 — along with the Shenzhou crewed spacecraft, Tianzhou cargo vehicles, the Tiangong space station, BeiDou navigation and GuoWang broadband satellites, the Chang'e lunar and Tianwen planetary probes, and China's strategic missiles. CASC set a national record with 73 orbital launches in 2025 and is developing the partially reusable, super-heavy Long March 10 to land Chinese astronauts on the Moon before 2030.
Main Products
Human-rated medium-lift rocket and the only Chinese launch vehicle cleared to carry astronauts, flying Shenzhou crews to the Tiangong station.
Operational from Jiuquan; has flown every Chinese crewed mission since 2003 with a perfect human-spaceflight record, including the 2025-2026 Shenzhou rotations.
China's most powerful operational rocket; the heavy-lift workhorse that launches Tiangong station modules (5B), Chang'e and Tianwen deep-space missions, and large GEO satellites.
Operational since its 2016 maiden flight from Wenchang; selected to launch the Chang'e-7 lunar south-pole mission in the second half of 2026.
Kerolox medium-lift rocket designed as a next-generation workhorse; launches Tianzhou cargo freighters to the Tiangong space station.
Operational from Wenchang since 2016, providing routine Tianzhou cargo resupply for China's crewed program.
Lower-cost commercial medium-lift rocket optimized for sun-synchronous and constellation deployment, central to China's GuoWang and other satellite-internet build-out.
The base Long March 8 debuted in December 2020; the upgraded 8A first flew in February 2025 and flew the 600th Long March mission in October 2025 deploying GuoWang satellites.
Partially reusable super-heavy-lift rocket for the crewed lunar program, designed to separately launch the Mengzhou spacecraft and Lanyue lander to trans-lunar injection.
Completed a successful low-altitude flight and Mengzhou abort test on February 11, 2026. A single-stick Long March 10A is expected in 2026 and the triple-core variant in 2027, targeting a crewed Moon landing before 2030.
Fully reusable super-heavy launch vehicle in development — a Starship-class methalox design intended for mega-constellations, lunar and Mars cargo, and future crewed deep-space missions.
Design centers on a reusable methalox first stage with 30 YF-215 engines. First flight is currently targeted around 2033.
China's crewed spacecraft, ferrying three taikonauts at a time to the Tiangong station; built by the China Academy of Space Technology (CAST).
Operational crew vehicle since 2003; Shenzhou-23 and Shenzhou-24 crew rotations to Tiangong are planned during 2026.
What's Next
Operations & Revenue
Fully operational as the prime contractor for China's space program. CASC flew a national-record 73 orbital launches in 2025, operates the Tiangong space station with regular Shenzhou crew and Tianzhou cargo rotations, and is developing the partially reusable super-heavy Long March 10 and fully reusable Long March 9 alongside upcoming Chang'e-7 lunar and Tianwen Mars-sample-return missions.
Revenue Streams
Government, civil, and commercial orbital launches on the Long March family, including international commercial launches marketed through subsidiary China Great Wall Industry Corporation.
Design and production of BeiDou navigation, GuoWang broadband, Gaofen/Yaogan Earth-observation, and communications satellites through academies such as CAST and SAST.
Human Spaceflight & Space Station
Shenzhou crewed spacecraft, Tianzhou cargo freighters, and the Tiangong space station systems and operations for China's crewed program.
Chang'e lunar exploration, Tianwen planetary probes, and the crewed lunar-landing program built around the Long March 10, Mengzhou spacecraft, and Lanyue lander.