ExPace

BState-Owned (CASIC subsidiary)Founded 2016🇨🇳Wuhan, Hubei, China

CEO

Zhang Di (Chairman)

Overview

ExPace (航天科工火箭技术), also known as CASIC Rocket Technology Company, is the commercial launch arm of state-owned missile and aerospace giant CASIC (China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation). Founded in 2016 and based in Wuhan, it markets the solid-propellant Kuaizhou ('fast vessel') family — derived from missile technology — for rapid, low-cost small-satellite launches that can be readied in hours. The workhorse Kuaizhou-1A (and its upgraded 1A Pro) has flown about 30 times, and the larger Kuaizhou-11 returned to service in 2022 and reached its fifth flight in March 2026; across all variants the family has logged roughly 38 launches. ExPace was an early mover in China's commercial sector — it famously auctioned a Kuaizhou-1A launch on Taobao for about $5.6M in 2020 — but its all-solid, expendable vehicles are increasingly challenged by reusable kerolox startups, and CASIC is pursuing larger Kuaizhou-21/-31 and reusable concepts to keep pace.

Main Products

Kuaizhou-1A

Active

Small-lift, solid-propellant launch vehicle (with a liquid upper stage) designed for rapid, low-cost small-satellite missions that can be prepared in hours. The upgraded 1A Pro adds a wider fairing and higher payload.

ExPace's most-flown rocket, with about 30 launches (two failures) since 2017; the 1A Pro variant debuted in December 2024 and flight 30 launched a Pakistani satellite in July 2025.

Payload to LEO400 kg (450 kg on 1A Pro)

Payload to SSO200–250 kg

Length~19.4 m

PropellantSolid (liquid upper stage)

Launches30+ (2 failures)

First FlightJan 9, 2017

Kuaizhou-11

Active

Larger solid-propellant launch vehicle with a 2.2 m diameter and 2.2–2.6 m fairing, offering roughly one tonne to a 700 km sun-synchronous orbit for quick-response constellation launches.

Maiden flight failed in July 2020; returned to flight in December 2022 and reached its fifth flight on March 16, 2026, deploying eight satellites from Jiuquan.

Payload to LEO1,500 kg

Payload to SSO1,000 kg (700 km)

Diameter2.2 m

Liftoff Mass~78 t

Launches5 (1 failure)

What's Next

Sustain high-cadence Kuaizhou launches

Keep flying Kuaizhou-1A/1A Pro and Kuaizhou-11 at a rapid tempo for China's commercial and government small-satellite and constellation demand, leveraging hours-long launch readiness.

2026

Bring larger Kuaizhou-21 / -31 online

Advance the much larger solid Kuaizhou-21 (~20 t to LEO) and Kuaizhou-31 (~70 t to LEO) to move ExPace into medium- and heavy-lift constellation deployment.

2026-2027

Respond to reusable-rocket competition

Counter the cost pressure from reusable kerolox rivals as CASIC explores reusable launch and spaceplane concepts to keep its all-expendable Kuaizhou line competitive.

2026+

Operations & Revenue

StatusOperational

ExPace flies the operational solid-fuel Kuaizhou-1A/1A Pro and Kuaizhou-11 for commercial and government small-satellite missions with rapid, low-cost, quick-response launches. Kuaizhou-1A reached its 30th flight in 2025 and Kuaizhou-11 its fifth in March 2026. CASIC is developing the larger solid Kuaizhou-21 and -31, while ExPace's all-expendable lineup faces growing competition from reusable kerolox rivals.

Revenue Streams

Kuaizhou-1A Launch Services

Rapid-response, low-cost solid-fuel small-satellite launches on Kuaizhou-1A and the upgraded 1A Pro for Chinese commercial and government customers, plus occasional international payloads.

Kuaizhou-11 Launch Services

One-tonne-class solid-fuel launches on Kuaizhou-11 for larger small satellites and constellation deployment to sun-synchronous and low Earth orbit.

Key Metrics

Est. Annual Revenue

Not separately disclosed (commercial unit of state-owned CASIC)

Total Kuaizhou Launches

~38 across all variants

Kuaizhou-1A Launches

30+ (2 failures)

Kuaizhou-11 Launches

5 (1 maiden-flight failure)

Launch Readiness

As fast as several hours (solid-fuel)

Parent

CASIC (state-owned)

Timeline

2026Kuaizhou-11 fifth flight

On March 16, 2026, Kuaizhou-11 conducts its fifth flight from Jiuquan, placing eight satellites into orbit and underscoring its role as China's quick-response solid launcher.

2025Kuaizhou-1A flight 30

On July 31, 2025, Kuaizhou-1A flies its 30th mission — and the 36th of the broader Kuaizhou series — launching Pakistan's PRSC-EO2 remote-sensing satellite from Xichang as a return-to-flight after a March 2025 anomaly.

2024Kuaizhou-1A Pro debuts

An upgraded Kuaizhou-1A Pro, with a wider 1.8 m fairing and ~450 kg payload to LEO, makes its first flight in December 2024.

2022Kuaizhou-11 returns to flight

Kuaizhou-11 successfully returns to flight in December 2022 after its maiden-flight failure, restoring ExPace's one-tonne-class solid launcher.

2020Rocket auctioned on Taobao; Kuaizhou-11 maiden flight fails

ExPace auctions a Kuaizhou-1A launch on Taobao for about 40 million yuan (~$5.6M) in April 2020, but the larger Kuaizhou-11's July 2020 maiden flight fails to reach orbit.

2017First Kuaizhou-1A launch

The solid-fuel Kuaizhou-1A debuts on January 9, 2017, placing its first commercial payloads in orbit and establishing ExPace's rapid-response small-launch service.

2016Founded

CASIC establishes ExPace (CASIC Rocket Technology Company) in Wuhan in February 2016 as its commercial launch subsidiary, with CASIC Fourth Academy executive Zhang Di as chairman.

Funding

Round	Date	Amount	Investors	Source
Strategic investment	2017	~$182M (1.2B yuan)	CASIC and eight Chinese institutional investors (Shanghai United Assets and Equity Exchange)