Kuaizhou Aerospace

Kuaizhou-21

In Development

Next-generation solid-propellant launch vehicle in development, stepping up from the flight-proven Kuaizhou-11 to roughly 20 tonnes to LEO - in the Falcon 9 payload class - for larger constellation and government missions.

Latest update Sep 18, 2026

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Current status

Announced by CASIC/ExPace as the next step up in the Kuaizhou family; an earlier informal 2025 debut target has passed without a maiden flight, and Wikipedia still lists a 2025 projected first flight that has not happened as of September 18, 2026.

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Specifications1

Payload to LEO
~20,000 kg (planned)

Announced next steps from Kuaizhou Aerospace that mention Kuaizhou-21.

  1. 2026-2027

    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 into medium- and heavy-lift constellation deployment. An earlier informal 2025 debut target for Kuaizhou-21 has passed with no confirmed maiden-flight date yet published. Wikipedia still lists a 2025 projected first flight that has not happened as of September 18, 2026.

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More from Kuaizhou Aerospace3

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