"First Stock in Commercial Spaceflight" suspense rises again

Semiconductor, robotics, commercial spaceflight, and other hard-tech companies are continuously pouring into the capital markets. On the evening of March 31, after the Shanghai Stock Exchange accepted the Science and Technology Innovation Board (STAR Market) IPO application of CAS Spaceflight Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter “CAS Spaceflight”), the company also officially entered the race for the “No. 1 commercial spaceflight stock” against Blue Arrow Aerospace. Notably, the next day after the IPO was accepted—that is, on April 1—the company was selected for an on-site inspection. In this push to go public, although CAS Spaceflight’s annual revenue continued to surge, as of the first three quarters of 2025 the company’s net profit was still in a loss position. From an industry-wide perspective, besides the two companies mentioned above, multiple companies in the commercial spaceflight sector have also kicked off their listing advisory processes.

The Battle for the “No. 1 Stock” Begins

After the Shanghai Stock Exchange accepted CAS Spaceflight’s STAR Market IPO application on March 31, on the evening of April 1, the website of the China Securities Industry Association disclosed the on-site inspection lottery list for the second batch of first-time issuers for 2026, and the company was selected for an on-site inspection.

As it is understood, CAS Spaceflight mainly engages in the R&D, production, and launch services of a series of large and medium commercial launch vehicles, and it is also developing new space-economy business formats such as space manufacturing, space science experiments, and space tourism. In this IPO push, the company plans to raise about RMB 4.18 billion. After deducting issuance expenses, the net proceeds are planned to be invested in repeatable large launch vehicle R&D projects, repeatable launch vehicle and spacecraft R&D projects, a repeatable liquid engine industrial base, repaying bank loans, and supplementing working capital.

It is worth noting that one day prior to the IPO application being accepted—on the evening of March 30—CAS Spaceflight’s YL-2 YI-1 orbital launch vehicle · Dongfeng Commercial Spaceflight Innovation Test Area successfully launched the Light-Boat prototype spacecraft (New Journey 02 satellite), the New Journey 01 satellite, and the TianShi satellite 01 with precise injection into their intended orbits. It is reported that the YL-2 is China’s first launch vehicle with a “universal booster core” configuration, offering advantages including high payload capacity, strong inherent reliability, strong manufacturability, simplified and convenient operations, significant expansion potential, and reusability.

Behind this IPO push, CAS Spaceflight’s net profit during the reporting period is still in a loss position. According to the prospectus, from 2022 to 2024 and the first three quarters of 2025, the company’s operating revenue was approximately RMB 5.9529 million, RMB 77.72M, RMB 244 million, and RMB 84.2239 million, respectively; the corresponding net profits attributable to the parent were approximately RMB -1.76B, RMB -512 million, RMB -861 million, and RMB -749 million, respectively.

CAS Spaceflight told Beijing Business Today that in the future the company will leverage a listing on the capital market to speed up the R&D of core technologies and the capacity building for batch production, thereby solidifying its core competitiveness through sound operations and returning value to investors over the long term.

CAS Spaceflight’s IPO acceptance will also kick off the contest for the “No. 1 commercial spaceflight stock” with Blue Arrow Aerospace.

Judging from Blue Arrow Aerospace’s listing and IPO process, the Shanghai Stock Exchange’s website shows that the company’s STAR Market IPO was accepted on December 31, 2025, and entered the inquiry stage on January 22, 2026. On March 31, 2026, Blue Arrow Aerospace’s IPO was halted because the financial materials recorded in the application documents for its offering and listing had exceeded their validity period and needed to be supplemented and resubmitted.

Who Are the Back-Up Contenders After Listing Advisory?

With Blue Arrow Aerospace and CAS Spaceflight’s IPO applications being accepted one after another, this is only a snapshot of the current wave of companies in the commercial spaceflight sector pushing for listings. As the capital markets continue to improve the policy framework related to the commercial spaceflight industry, more companies in the commercial spaceflight sector are moving to launch challenges toward the capital markets.

From a policy perspective, in June 2025 the STAR Market introduced “1+6” reform measures, clearly stating support for companies in frontier technology fields such as commercial spaceflight to apply the STAR Market’s fifth set of listing standards. In December of the same year, the Shanghai Stock Exchange issued another major favorable policy, the “Guiding Opinions No. 9 on the Application of the Shanghai Stock Exchange’s Rules for Reviewing Issuance and Listing—Commercial Rocket Enterprises Applying the STAR Market’s Fifth Set of Listing Standards,” which made detailed provisions from seven aspects—including business scope and the “hard technology” attribute requirements, qualification standards, industry position, and stage-based achievements—on how commercial rocket enterprises should apply the STAR Market’s fifth set of listing standards.

Under these policy tailwinds, the roster of “back-up forces” in China’s A-share commercial spaceflight sector continues to expand.

As of now, commercial rocket companies such as Xinghe Power and Xingji Glory are all in the listing advisory stage. Among them, Xingji Glory started listing advisory as early as 2020, and this year in January disclosed its report on progress in the twenty-second phase of advisory work.

In the commercial satellite sector, the listing-IPO heat is also warming up in parallel. On the evening of March 30, the website of the CSRC showed that GalaxySpace started listing advisory. It is understood that the company is a provider of satellite internet solutions and a satellite manufacturer, committed to independent R&D and low-cost mass production of communication payloads, core single units, and satellite platforms.

Earlier than that, companies such as MicroNano Sky and Yixin Aerospace had already initiated their listing advisory processes.

Commercialization of the Commercial Spaceflight Industry Accelerates

“This round of commercial spaceflight IPO heat is the result of both improved industry maturity and coordinated efforts from capital market reforms.” Looking ahead, Zhou Di, an entrepreneurship mentor from the China Association for Science and Technology Consulting, told Beijing Business Today that the pace of companies going public will steadily quicken; however, they may face bottlenecks such as technological iteration risks, a long profitability cycle, whether the valuation is reasonable, and insufficient business-commercialization validation for launch and network formation.

In an interview with Beijing Business Today, CAS Spaceflight said that commercial spaceflight, as a national strategic high-tech industry and a new high ground for great-power competition, has become an important indicator for measuring a country’s overall national strength. Great powers generally regard commercial spaceflight as an important component of national overall strength, and the strategic role of commercial spaceflight is increasingly prominent.

In recent years, China’s layout for commercial spaceflight has also been continuously expanding. In 2025, the National Space Administration issued, in sequence, the “Notice on Strengthening Quality Supervision and Management of Commercial Spaceflight Projects” and the “Action Plan for Advancing High-Quality and Safe Development of Commercial Spaceflight (2025–2027),” and at year-end it established a Commercial Spaceflight Department to continue promoting high-quality development of commercial spaceflight.

“Over recent years, laws and regulations and industry policies related to commercial spaceflight newly formulated or revised in China are intended to clarify the strategic position of the commercial spaceflight industry and provide support from many aspects including finance, taxation, technology, and talent. The establishment and improvement of industry policy and regulatory frameworks provide key safeguards and strong momentum for the business development of commercial spaceflight companies.” CAS Spaceflight said.

Riding on a series of favorable policies, the pace of commercialization in the commercial spaceflight sector is accelerating in sync.

“Our commercial spaceflight has entered a stage of large-scale development. The industrial chain is gradually improving, and policy has shifted from encouraging development to standardizing and improving quality. Specialized bureaus and offices have been established to strengthen regulation and service—setting safety bottom lines and clarifying development paths for the industry. In the long run, it will promote orderly, high-quality expansion with broad prospects.” Zhou Di said.

“In the next three years, the deployment of satellite internet constellations will see a peak.” Angel investor and senior artificial intelligence expert Guo Tao told Beijing Business Today. However, to achieve large-scale commercialization, the industry still needs to overcome key bottlenecks such as driving the cost per single satellite down to the ten-thousand-yuan level and increasing launch frequency to once per week on average.

CAS Spaceflight also told Beijing Business Today that various regulations and policies provide the company with a favorable policy environment for business development. With the gradual advancement over the next 5–10 years of China’s plans for giant low-earth-orbit satellite constellations and the continued development of China’s private commercial launch vehicle companies, China’s commercial launch vehicle market will enter a period of rapid growth. The company is expected to benefit from encouragement and support under related policies, and it will achieve sustained rapid growth in its business.

Beijing Business Today reporter Wang Manlei