China's iSpace lands first tranche of $148M Series E for reusable rockets
What's the deal? Beijing Interstellar Glory Space Technology, the commercial rocket unicorn known as iSpace, has closed the first tranche of a Series E round of nearly 1 billion CNY ($148 million). The round was backed mainly by several bank-affiliated asset investment companies (AICs), with fundraising still ongoing.
What's the endgame? The proceeds target four core areas: development and mass production of the reusable Hyperbola-3 launch vehicle, capacity for the Focus-2 liquid oxygen-methane engine, launch and sea-recovery infrastructure, and heavy-lift rocket research.
Why now? The company says the funding will speed up the maiden flight of its flagship reusable liquid rocket and cut the cost of reaching orbit. The aim is to offer stable, high-frequency and cost-competitive launch services to constellation operators at home and abroad.
The signal: Bringing in bank-affiliated capital and re-raising at scale marks a push to industrialise reusable launch — the technology underpinning cheaper, more frequent access to orbit — as China's commercial space sector races to close the gap with US rivals.
Read more: Jiemian News
Image credit: West Point - The U.S. Military Academy
