Orienspace
Chinese private launch startup behind Gravity-1, the world's most powerful solid-propellant rocket, sea-launched off Shandong; developing the larger reusable kerolox Gravity-2 for China's megaconstellations.
Background
Orienspace (东方空间, Oriental Space; Orienspace Technology (Shandong) Co.) was founded 9 June 2020 by veterans of China's state-owned space sector. It is headquartered in Shandong, with an R&D center in Beijing and a propulsion-technology base in Wuxi, Jiangsu. Its flagship Gravity-1 (Yinli-1/YL-1) is a four-stage, all-solid launcher — ~30 m tall, ~405 t liftoff mass, ~600 t thrust with four solid strap-on boosters — rated for 6.5 t to LEO and 4.2 t to a 500 km SSO. Its 11 Jan 2024 maiden flight, from a converted barge off Haiyang, set records as the world's most powerful solid-propellant rocket and China's most capable privately built vehicle; it also carried a 3 t low-cost cargo-spacecraft mass simulator.
A second sea launch (Y2) followed only on 11 Oct 2025, orbiting three satellites — a ~21-month gap that undercut promised cadence (co-founder Yao Song had pledged 3 flights in 2024 and 8-10 across 2025-26). The company is developing Gravity-2, a ~70 m two-stage reusable kerolox launcher (nine Force/Yuanli engines; ~21.5 t to LEO, ~29 t with solid boosters), plus a planned tri-core Gravity-3. Leadership reshuffled after 2024: Yao Song exited for AI; Bu Xiangwei (ex-CTO) is chairman/CEO, though the firm is notably opaque about current roles.