PrivateFounded 2019🇨🇳Beijing, ChinaCEO Wei Yi
Space Epoch (箭元科技), legally Beijing Jianyuan Technology and branded 'Sepoch', is a Chinese commercial launch startup founded by Wei Yi (a former CALT and i-Space/Interstellar Glory engineer) to develop the Yuanxingzhe-1 ('Hiker-1') - a stainless-steel, methane-liquid oxygen, partially reusable medium-lift rocket whose sea-recovery, low-cost design draws frequent comparisons to a smaller SpaceX Starship.
Latest update Sep 9, 2026
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On May 29, 2025 it pulled off China's first sea-based vertical-takeoff/vertical-landing recovery test: a single-engine demonstrator flew a ~125-second suborbital hop to roughly 2.5 km and executed a controlled splashdown off Haiyang, Shandong, with the stainless stage recovered largely intact. Rather than build its own engines, Space Epoch buys methalox powerplants from engine maker Jiuzhou Yunjian (its LY-70 'Longyun' engine). In January 2026 it broke ground on a 5.2 billion yuan (~$740M) sea-recovery rocket plant in Hangzhou sized for up to 25 vehicles a year, aiming to cut launch costs toward 20,000 yuan/kg, and signed a payload cooperation with Hangzhou satellite maker Star Vision (Diwei-2). The plant's first vehicle, named 'Qiantang-hao,' was planned to start final assembly by the end of August 2026; as of early September 2026 no public confirmation of that assembly start has appeared. The latest disclosed hardware work is a July 22, 2026 second-stage tail-cabin vibration test, with first-flight systems still in joint testing and a debut orbital launch plus first-stage sea recovery still targeted by year-end. The company has expanded its footprint with a new Wenchang, Hainan launch-and-recovery site (acquired July 2026) and a Shandong manufacturing/R&D subsidiary in Haiyang (May 2026). It has also signed a Taobao/Alibaba partnership exploring rocket-based parcel delivery and a strategic cooperation with Shifang Xinglian (Suzhou) Aerospace Technology toward a new MEO satellite constellation.
news.10jqka.com.cnUpdated Sep 9, 2026
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2026-2027
Finish the 5.2 billion yuan (~$740M) Hangzhou Qiantang sea-recovery rocket factory, which broke ground January 7, 2026 and is designed for up to 25 medium-to-large reusable rockets per year and a launch-cost target below 20,000 yuan/kg. The plant was planned to begin 'Qiantang-hao' final assembly by the end of August 2026; that start has not been publicly confirmed.
End of 2026
Fly the Yuanxingzhe-1 / 'Qiantang-hao' maiden orbital mission with a first-stage sea-recovery attempt, still the public target for the end of 2026 after the July 22, 2026 tail-cabin vibration test. The January Hangzhou plan to start final assembly by the end of August 2026 has not been publicly confirmed as of early September 2026, so the remaining watch item is whether assembly, integrated testing, and the year-end flight still line up.
2027+
Turn a successful debut into recurring reusable launches, including the May 2026 strategic cooperation with Shifang Xinglian (Suzhou) Aerospace Technology toward a new MEO satellite constellation, the January 2026 Star Vision / Diwei-2 payload cooperation in Hangzhou, and build-out of the Wenchang, Hainan launch-and-recovery site.
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Operating status
Pre-orbital - in development
Space Epoch has completed China's first sea-based VTVL recovery test (May 2025) but has not yet reached orbit. The latest public hardware milestone is a July 22, 2026 second-stage tail-cabin vibration test; first-flight systems were then still in verification and joint testing, with a debut orbital launch and first-stage sea recovery still targeted by the end of 2026. The January 2026 Hangzhou plan called for 'Qiantang-hao' final assembly to start by the end of August 2026, but as of early September 2026 that start has not been publicly confirmed. The 5.2 billion yuan Hangzhou sea-recovery plant (begun January 7, 2026) remains under construction toward a 25-rocket/year design capacity, alongside the July 2026 Wenchang launch-and-recovery site and the May 2026 Haiyang subsidiary.
Reusable Launch Services (planned)
Low-cost, high-cadence reusable launches on Yuanxingzhe-1 for China's commercial satellite and mega-constellation market once first-stage recovery and reuse are demonstrated.
Rocket-Based Logistics (exploratory)
An exploratory partnership with Alibaba's Taobao to study using reusable rockets for ultra-fast point-to-point parcel delivery worldwide.
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How past announced dates turned out.
0/1announced date hit on time
Start Qiantang-hao final assembly at the Hangzhou plant
Target End of August 2026 · Resolved Sep 9, 2026
Xinhua and Hangzhou government coverage of the January 7, 2026 groundbreaking said Yuanxingzhe-1 / Qiantang-hao would begin final assembly and testing at the new plant by the end of August 2026. As of September 9, 2026 no public confirmation of that assembly start has appeared. The latest disclosed hardware work remains the July 22, 2026 second-stage tail-cabin vibration test, and the company still targets a first orbital flight by year-end.
07
2026
Yuanxingzhe-1 second-stage tail-cabin vibration test
On July 22, 2026 Space Epoch said it had completed a three-axis vibration test of the Yuanxingzhe-1 second-stage tail cabin, confirming the structure and auxiliary-power system after a full-flight vibration environment. IT Home reported the same day that first-flight vehicle systems were still in planned verification and joint testing, with the maiden flight still targeted for the end of 2026. As of early September 2026 that remains the latest public hardware milestone; no confirmation has appeared that Hangzhou final assembly of 'Qiantang-hao' started by the end of August as planned in January.
Wenchang, Hainan launch-and-recovery site
On July 8, 2026, wholly-owned subsidiary Hainan Arrow Yuan Aerospace Launch Co. acquires a 23,200 sqm plot (50-year lease, ~16.02 million yuan) in Dongjiao Town, Wenchang, inside Wenchang International Aerospace City, to build a launch-and-recovery center for medium/large reusable rockets supporting large-scale satellite-constellation launch demand.
MEO constellation cooperation with Shifang Xinglian
On May 23, 2026, Space Epoch signs a strategic cooperation agreement in Beijing with Shifang Xinglian (Suzhou) Aerospace Technology covering launches for a planned MEO relay-satellite constellation and space-based tracking, telemetry and command support.
Series B funding and $740M Hangzhou plant
Space Epoch closes a Series B round (undisclosed amount) in February 2026, with 36Kr listing IDG Capital, Hanhui Capital, Qiantang Industry Group, Jiuzhi Capital, Yida Capital and others as participants, then breaks ground in January 2026 on a 5.2 billion yuan (~$740M) sea-recovery reusable-rocket plant in Hangzhou sized to build up to 25 medium-to-large rockets per year. At the January 7 groundbreaking it also signed a payload cooperation with Hangzhou satellite maker Star Vision (Diwei-2) for locally built rockets to launch locally built satellites.
2025
China's first sea-based VTVL recovery test
On May 29, 2025, a single-engine Yuanxingzhe-1 demonstrator lifts off off the coast of Haiyang, Shandong, flies a ~125-second suborbital hop to about 2.5 km, and performs a controlled vertical splashdown in the Yellow Sea - China's first sea-based vertical-takeoff/landing recovery - with the stage recovered largely intact.
2024
2023
2019
08
$28Mdisclosed across 1 round with a stated amount
