Space Epoch

Aerospace · Reusable Rockets · Commercial Space

Funding

Space Epoch raises $342M across six months, hits unicorn status

Chinese satellite operators have far more payloads than rockets to launch them, and investors are betting reusable boosters will close that gap.

• Space Epoch completed a Series B++ round on Sept. 16, pushing its total raised over the past six months above RMB2.3 billion ($342 million), led by IDG Capital, Chaos Investment, Hangzhou Capital and Songyuan Venture Capital.
• Founded in 2019, Space Epoch (箭元科技) is building Yuanxingzhe-1, a stainless-steel, liquid-oxygen-methane reusable rocket designed to eventually use tower-based 'chopstick' capture recovery like SpaceX's Starship.
• The new capital will fund Yuanxingzhe-1's maiden flight, sea-splashdown recovery validation and the buildout of commercial delivery capacity, the company said.
• China logged 50 commercial rocket launches carrying 311 satellites in 2025, a pace industry executives say still trails the launch demand from planned mega-constellations.
• Rivals LandSpace and state-owned CASC have already completed booster recovery tests this year, while China's Qianfan and GW constellations alone plan a combined tens of thousands of satellites, fueling a capital rush into reusable rockets.
• The round signals investors are betting that mastering reusability, not just adding launch volume, is what will let Chinese rocket makers keep pace with runaway satellite-constellation demand.
• Space Epoch expects Yuanxingzhe-1 to be flight-ready by the end of 2026, with a first orbital launch and first-stage sea recovery attempt to follow, ahead of a planned 2027 start to commercial launch services.