Deep Blue AerospaceIn Development
Larger, five-meter-diameter kerosene-liquid oxygen heavy-lift rocket stepping up from Nebula-1, designed to carry more than 25,000 kg to LEO on a cluster of up-rated Thunder-RS engines with planned first-stage recovery and reuse.
Latest update Sep 15, 2026
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The Thunder-RS first-stage engine completed its first 100-second full-duration static fire around August 21, 2026, reaching 1,297.5 kN (~132.3 tonnes) of thrust. The company engine page now rates it at 1,300 kN sea-level / 1,500 kN vacuum, 50-110% throttle, at least three starts. 2025 funding coverage said the first stage would cluster 11 Thunder-RS engines. No maiden-flight date has been confirmed as of mid-September 2026.
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Announced next steps from Deep Blue Aerospace that mention Nebula-2.
2026+
Advance the larger 5 m-diameter Nebula-2, designed to carry more than 25,000 kg to LEO, to broaden Deep Blue's reach into heavy constellation deployment. Its Thunder-RS first-stage engine passed a first 100-second full-duration static fire (1,297.5 kN / ~132.3 t) on August 21, 2026, and the company engine page now rates it at 1,300 kN sea-level / 1,500 kN vacuum. 2025 funding coverage said the first stage would cluster 11 engines. No maiden-flight date has been confirmed.
Late 2027
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Jiangsu Deep Blue Aerospace said on September 24 it had completed two financing rounds totaling nearly 20 billion yuan. Securities Times identified the rounds as B6 and B7 and listed returning shareholders including Wuxi High-tech Zone Investment Holding Group, Zhuoyuan Capital and Zhengyue Investment, alongside Addor Capital, Oceanpine, listed Boton Technology, Hongrun Construction and Youluoka. China Securities Journal reported the same company disclosure and said proceeds will fund Nebula-1 work and deeper development of the larger Nebula-2 reusable rocket. The company did not publish an exact combined figure, a post-money valuation, or a new Nebula-1 flight date.
Deep Blue Aerospace completed a 100-second full-duration static fire of its up-rated Thunder-RS engine around August 21-22, reaching about 1,297.5 kilonewtons of thrust and crossing the 100-second steady-state qualification threshold for the first time. The engine is being developed for the larger Nebula-2 rocket, following a series of shorter test firings with no anomalies.
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Two-stage, partially reusable kerosene–liquid oxygen medium-lift rocket with a vertically landing first stage powered by nine Thunder-R engines. The Nebula-1A debut variant adds grid fins and sea-recovery capability for a first-stage splashdown.
Reusable kerosene-liquid oxygen rocket engine in Deep Blue's Leiting (Thunder) family. Nine Thunder-R engines power the Nebula-1 first stage.
Up-rated, ~130-tonne-class kerosene-liquid oxygen engine in Deep Blue's Leiting (Thunder) family, using needle-valve injection and deep throttling, developed to power the Nebula-2 first stage with planned reuse.
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SpaceX
Partially reusable two-stage medium-lift launch vehicle. The world's most frequently launched orbital rocket.
SpaceX
Heavy-lift launch vehicle consisting of a strengthened Falcon 9 core with two additional boosters.
SpaceX
Reusable spacecraft for cargo and crew transport to the International Space Station.
SpaceX
Fully reusable super-heavy-lift launch system designed for missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. V3 (Block 3) variant with Raptor 3 engines is the production version.