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.
Financial footing
- Confirmed: ~600M yuan (~$83.5M) Jan 2024 round
- Aug 2025 Series B+ ('hundreds of millions of yuan') for Gravity-2
- Reported (unconfirmed): ~6B yuan (~$823M) valuation Aug 2023
- ~$144-150M+ cumulative
- Two orbital launches to date (Gravity-1 Y1 Jan 2024, Y2 Oct 2025)
- Claimed 2023 orders to launch several hundred satellites
- Solid motors sourced partly from state-owned AASPT
- Backers: VC-led: reportedly Sequoia China (HongShan) and Matrix Partners China (early); Series A (2022) led by Hike Capital with Minyin International, miHoYo, Vision Plus Capital and Pagoda. Broader central- and local-government strategic-industry support; specific state equity stakes not clearly disclosed.
Funding figures are inconsistent. Wikipedia cites four rounds totaling over $150M by Oct 2023 (incl. a $47.3M Pre-A); a Tracxn tally cited by China in Space counts ~$144M across two rounds — ~$60M Series A (2022, led by Hike Capital with Minyin International, miHoYo, Vision Plus Capital and Pagoda) and ~$83.5M (~600M yuan) in Jan 2024 after the first launch. Reuters reported an Aug 2023 raise valuing the firm near 6B yuan (~$823M) and an Aug 2025 Series B+ of 'hundreds of millions of yuan' ($27M-$124M) earmarked mainly for Gravity-2.
Early backers reportedly included Sequoia China (HongShan) and Matrix Partners China. Orienspace claimed China's cheapest commercial launch at ~$5,000-6,000/kg (~$32.5-39M per Gravity-1 flight) and, in 2023, orders to launch several hundred satellites — revenue that, with only two flights, is largely on paper. Total raised, valuation and headcount are not cleanly disclosed.
Major customers & contracts
Orienspace's core market is China's satellite-constellation buildout. Its pitch is deploying and replenishing 'large-scale networking' constellations: Gravity-1 can loft 10+ satellites per flight with sea- or land-launch flexibility and a claimed 24-hour rapid-response call-up. The prime prizes are China's two broadband megaconstellations — the national Guowang (GW/SatNet, ~13,000 satellites) and the Shanghai-led Qianfan ('Thousand Sails', ~14,000) — plus commercial remote-sensing fleets.
Payloads flown span Yunyao-1 weather satellites (Y1) and Jilin-1 wideband imaging plus experimental satellites (Y2). The firm says it holds orders to launch several hundred satellites, but with just two orbital missions it competes for those contracts against faster-moving rivals. It has also begun selling aerospace instruments — data links, avionics and simulation — to a wider Chinese buyer base.
Leadership & contact surface
Leadership: Bu Xiangwei (Chairman & CEO; ex-CTO)
Official site: https://www.orienspace.com
Competitive position
Orienspace sits in a crowded Chinese commercial-launch field racing toward reusable medium/heavy lift. Rivals include Landspace (Zhuque-3), Space Pioneer (Tianlong-3), Galactic Energy (Pallas-1), Deep Blue Aerospace (Nebula-1) and CAS Space (Kinetica-2), plus state giant CASC (Long March 8/12A) — several nearing reusable debuts ahead of Gravity-2. Orienspace's differentiator is scale-by-solids: Gravity-1 is the most powerful commercial solid rocket flying, and its sea-launch model exploits China's first sea spaceport at Haiyang.
But the edge is eroding: only two launches in ~21 months, repeated Gravity-2 slips (targeted end-2025, since pushed), and dependence on a state-controlled launch ship and stacking building it does not fully control. Critics note it raised heavily yet flew little, chose an unusually large first rocket, and leans on state-supplied solid motors. A quiet 'instrument pivot' — data links, telemetry, digital-twin tools — hedges the thin cadence.
Battlefield relevance
Gravity-1 is dual-use by construction: a large multi-stage solid rocket is the same technology class as a road- or sea-mobile ballistic missile — storable, quick to ready, rapidly launched. Crucially, Orienspace sources solid motors partly from the state-owned Academy of Aerospace Solid Propulsion Technology (AASPT, CASC's 4th Academy) — the institution that builds motors for China's DF-series ICBMs and JL SLBMs — tying a 'private' startup to the ballistic-missile industrial base.
Sea launch adds responsive-space value: mobile, hard to target, launchable from open water on short notice (a claimed 24-hour call-up), useful for rapid reconstitution of military satellites. Orienspace's own catalog markets Hongli data links 'suitable for drone swarms and missile guidance,' telemetry/avionics for defense use, and hardware-in-the-loop simulation.
Sources & verification
- SpaceNews — Orienspace breaks Chinese commercial launch records with Gravity-1 solid rocket (Jan 2024)
- SpaceNews — Launch startup Orienspace secures B+ round funding, targets test flight (Aug 2025)
- Reuters — China rocket startup Orienspace raises nearly $84 mln (Jan 24, 2024)
- Reuters — China's OrienSpace could be valued at $823 mln in new fundraising (Aug 22, 2023)
- Xinhua — China launches Gravity-1 rocket from sea (Oct 11, 2025)
- China in Space — Where is OrienSpace? (dual-use instruments, opacity, funding) (Mar 25, 2025)
- New Space Economy — What is the Academy of Aerospace Solid Propulsion Technology (AASPT), and why it matters
- Military Watch Magazine — China launches world's largest solid-fuel rocket: strategic advantages
- Wikipedia — Orienspace (company overview, Gravity-2/3, launch log)