i-Space
Corporate brand
UnclaimedChinese private space technology company developing launch vehicles and commercial orbital launch services.
Last updated October 9, 2026
AI crawler reads
No AI crawler has read this profile yet.
Overview
i-Space, also known by the Chinese name Xingji Rongyao and by English renderings including Space Honor and Interstellar Glory, is a Beijing-based Chinese private space technology and launch company founded in October 2016. Its business centers on the design, development and operation of rockets for suborbital testing and commercial satellite deployment. The company emerged during the expansion of China’s commercial space sector, where privately funded firms began developing launch systems alongside the country’s established state-owned aerospace organizations. The company’s early vehicles were small, solid-propellant rockets intended to validate propulsion, guidance, recovery and payload-integration capabilities. Hyperbola-1S completed a suborbital test from Hainan in April 2018, reaching an altitude of approximately 108 kilometres. A second suborbital vehicle, Hyperbola-1Z, flew from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in September 2018. That mission carried payloads associated with Chinese private satellite developers and demonstrated i-Space’s ability to conduct a commercial suborbital mission. The company’s defining achievement came on 25 July 2019, when its four-stage solid-fuel Hyperbola-1 rocket reached low Earth orbit on its first orbital attempt. The mission, launched from Jiuquan, carried several payloads including the CAS-7B amateur-radio satellite. This made i-Space the first Chinese private company to achieve orbit, a milestone that gave it significant visibility in the domestic commercial launch market and distinguished it from several contemporaneous startups whose early orbital attempts had failed. The subsequent development record was mixed. Three later Hyperbola-1 launches, conducted in February 2021, August 2021 and May 2022, failed to achieve their intended orbital outcomes. The first failure was attributed to a grid-fin control problem after a piece of insulation interfered with the fin mechanism. The August 2021 failure was linked by the company to a malfunction during fairing separation, while the May 2022 attempt was also unsuccessful. i-Space returned to orbital success with an uncrewed or dummy-payload test launch in April 2023 and then placed the DEAR-1 satellite into a sun-synchronous orbit in December 2023. Alongside its solid-fuel launcher program, i-Space has pursued methane-and-liquid-oxygen propulsion and reusable launch technology. The Hyperbola-2 program was designed as a two-stage reusable launcher using the JD-1 engine, with a planned propulsive landing of its first stage. In 2023, the company announced that it would suspend further development of Hyperbola-2 and move directly toward the larger Hyperbola-3 family. Hyperbola-3 is intended to be a partially reusable medium-lift vehicle powered by methane-fueled Focus-2 engines. The company has described both an expendable configuration and a reusable configuration, as well as a larger three-core Hyperbola-3B variant. Testing for the newer reusable-rocket architecture included vertical takeoff and vertical landing-related demonstrations in 2023. The company subsequently worked on recovery infrastructure, including an autonomous landing ship intended to support sea-based first-stage recovery. i-Space has also discussed longer-term concepts such as a reusable suborbital spaceplane for space tourism, although that concept is less mature than its orbital-launch programs. Its competitive field includes other Chinese commercial launch companies such as LandSpace, Galactic Energy, LinkSpace, Deep Blue Aerospace, Space Pioneer, CAS Space and OneSpace.
History
i-Space was established in Beijing in October 2016 during a period when China’s commercial-space sector was beginning to attract substantial private investment and engineering talent. The company’s initial direction was the development of relatively small solid-propellant rockets for suborbital experiments and orbital satellite launches. Its early technology strategy made use of solid rocket engines procured from major Chinese state aerospace suppliers while the company concentrated on vehicle integration, guidance, launch operations and commercial payload services. The first important flight milestone came on 5 April 2018, when Hyperbola-1S flew from Hainan on a suborbital trajectory and reached approximately 108 kilometres. Later that year, Hyperbola-1Z conducted a commercial suborbital mission from Jiuquan. The vehicle reached a similar altitude and carried payloads from Chinese private satellite companies, including CubeSat-related experiments. These missions gave i-Space operational experience and demonstrated that a private Chinese company could provide launch opportunities outside the traditional state-led launch framework. On 25 July 2019, i-Space launched the four-stage Hyperbola-1 from Jiuquan. The rocket successfully entered low Earth orbit on its maiden orbital flight and deployed multiple payloads, including the CAS-7B amateur-radio satellite. The achievement made i-Space the first Chinese private company to reach orbit and became one of the most visible early successes of China’s commercial launch industry. Hyperbola-1 was a compact solid-fuel launcher designed to carry approximately 300 kilograms to low Earth orbit. The company then experienced a difficult period of launch reliability. A February 2021 Hyperbola-1 flight failed after insulation became lodged in the mechanism of the fourth grid fin. When the obstruction cleared, the control system reportedly overcorrected, producing aerodynamic loads that destroyed the vehicle. A further attempt in August 2021 also failed. Public reporting initially left the outcome unclear, but Chinese official media and a subsequent company statement identified a fairing-separation malfunction as the cause of the unsuccessful mission. A fourth post-2019 attempt in May 2022 likewise failed to reach orbit. In April 2023, i-Space demonstrated a return to orbital success with another Hyperbola-1 mission that carried no reported operational payload, or possibly a dummy payload. The recovery was followed by a December 2023 launch that deployed the DEAR-1 satellite into sun-synchronous orbit. These flights restored the company’s orbital record and provided additional operational experience while it continued to develop more advanced launch architectures. The next stage of the company’s technology roadmap involved liquid methane and liquid oxygen propulsion, vertical landing and reusable stages. Hyperbola-2 was conceived as a two-stage reusable launcher using the JD-1 engine, with a first stage designed for propulsive recovery. The JD-1 engine underwent a hot-fire test in 2020. Rather than continue toward a first launch of Hyperbola-2, i-Space announced in 2023 that it would move directly to Hyperbola-3, a larger medium-lift vehicle. Hyperbola-3 is planned as a two-stage launcher using methane-fueled Focus-2, also designated JD-2, engines. The company has described a reusable version capable of lifting at least 8.5 tonnes to low Earth orbit and an expendable version capable of lifting approximately 13.4 tonnes. A three-core heavy-lift derivative, Hyperbola-3B, has also been proposed. In November 2023, a vertical takeoff and landing-related test article flew for roughly 51 seconds and reached a maximum height of about 178 metres. A further test in December, identified as Hyperbola-2Y in the supplied reference material, reached approximately 343 metres and translated horizontally before landing-related operations. i-Space has also invested in recovery infrastructure for future reusable missions. In 2025, the company publicized a completed autonomous drone ship named Qinglan, intended to serve as a sea-based landing platform for Hyperbola-3 first stages near the Wenchang Commercial Space Launch Site. Later footage showed preparations for structural testing of a full-scale landing leg at the company’s facility, in support of planned first-stage recovery operations. The timing and ultimate success of future Hyperbola-3 orbital and recovery missions remain subject to further testing and launch authorization. Beyond launch vehicles, i-Space has at times discussed a reusable suborbital spaceplane concept for space tourism. The concept illustrates the company’s broader interest in reusable aerospace systems, although the company’s documented and more immediate business focus remains commercial satellite launch and rocket development. It operates in a competitive Chinese market alongside LandSpace, LinkSpace, Galactic Energy, Deep Blue Aerospace, Space Pioneer, CAS Space, ExPace, Space Epoch and OneSpace.
- 2025
Qinglan recovery ship publicized
[1]i-Space revealed an autonomous drone ship intended to support sea-based recovery of Hyperbola-3 first stages.
- 2023
Hyperbola-1 returns to orbit
[1]After three unsuccessful post-2019 attempts, i-Space successfully launched Hyperbola-1 again in April.
- 2023
Hyperbola-3 vertical-flight testing
[1]A reusable-launcher test article completed a 51-second vertical flight and reached approximately 178.42 metres.
- 2023
DEAR-1 deployment
[1]A December Hyperbola-1 mission deployed the DEAR-1 satellite into an approximately 500-kilometre sun-synchronous orbit.
- 2020
Series B financing
[1]i-Space reportedly raised approximately US$173 million in private capital during a Series B financing round.
- 2020
JD-1 engine hot-fire testing
[1]The liquid-methane JD-1 engine for the planned Hyperbola-2 reusable launcher completed an initial hot-fire test.
- 2019
First Chinese private company to reach orbit
[1]Hyperbola-1 successfully entered low Earth orbit on its maiden orbital flight and deployed several payloads.
- 2018
First suborbital flight
[1]Hyperbola-1S reached approximately 108 kilometres on a suborbital test flight launched from Hainan.
- 2018
Commercial Hyperbola-1Z suborbital mission
[1]Hyperbola-1Z flew from Jiuquan with commercial payloads and reached approximately 108 kilometres.
- 2016
Company founded
[1]i-Space was established in Beijing as a privately funded Chinese space technology and launch company.
Products and positioning
A Chinese commercial-space launcher positioned around privately developed orbital launch services, rapid vehicle iteration and the transition from low-cost solid-fuel rockets toward methane-fueled reusable medium-lift systems.
Suborbital test rocket · 2018
Hyperbola-1S
Hyperbola-1S, also designated SQX-1S, is a single-stage solid-propellant suborbital test rocket. It is approximately 8.4 metres long, about one metre in diameter and has a reported mass of roughly 4.6 tonnes. Its April 2018 Hainan flight reached approximately 108 kilometres and served as an early demonstration of i-Space’s vehicle and launch capabilities.
Suborbital test and commercial research rocket · 2018
Hyperbola-1Z
Hyperbola-1Z, also known as SQX-1Z, is a larger single-stage solid-propellant suborbital vehicle. It has a diameter of approximately 1.4 metres, a design speed of about 1.6 kilometres per second and a stated maximum altitude near 175 kilometres. Its September 2018 mission reached about 108 kilometres and carried commercial research payloads, including CubeSat-related hardware.
Small orbital launch vehicle · 2019
Hyperbola-1
Hyperbola-1, or SQX-1, is a four-stage solid-fuel orbital launcher approximately 20.8 metres tall, 1.4 metres in diameter and 31 tonnes in mass. It uses liquid-fuel attitude-control engines and is designed to carry roughly 300 kilograms to low Earth orbit. The vehicle achieved orbit on its July 2019 debut, suffered three unsuccessful launches between 2021 and 2022, and returned to successful orbital flight in 2023.
Reusable medium-lift launcher
Hyperbola-2
Hyperbola-2 was planned as a two-stage liquid-fueled reusable rocket designed to place approximately 1.9 tonnes into low Earth orbit. Its JD-1 engine uses methane and liquid oxygen, and the first stage was intended to perform a propulsive landing for reuse. i-Space announced in 2023 that it would suspend further development of this launcher and move directly toward Hyperbola-3.
Partially reusable medium-lift launcher
Hyperbola-3
Hyperbola-3 is a planned 69-metre, two-stage liquid-fueled launcher using methane and liquid oxygen. i-Space has described a reusable configuration capable of carrying at least 8.5 tonnes to low Earth orbit and an expendable configuration capable of approximately 13.4 tonnes. The program includes vertical-flight testing, planned first-stage recovery and a proposed three-core Hyperbola-3B heavy-lift derivative.
Rocket recovery vessel · 2025
Qinglan
Qinglan is an autonomous drone ship publicized by i-Space as a future landing platform for recovered Hyperbola-3 first stages. The vessel is intended to support sea-based vertical landing operations associated with launches from the Wenchang commercial spaceport area.
Controversies
Brand decisions
2023
Shift from Hyperbola-2 to Hyperbola-3StrategyBackground
i-Space had been developing Hyperbola-2 as a reusable methane-fueled launcher, but the program had not reached an orbital flight.
Action taken
The company announced that it would suspend further Hyperbola-2 development and proceed directly with the larger Hyperbola-3 program.
Aftermath
The change concentrated the company’s reusable-launcher efforts on a higher-capacity vehicle and its associated vertical-landing and recovery systems.
Recent events
Reported
ispace unveils Series 2 lunar lander design[5]
ispace unveiled the design of its Series 2 lunar lander, intended for the company’s third planned moon mission. The lander is designed to carry up to 500 kilograms to the lunar surface and survive lunar nighttime.
- Unconfirmed
iSpace completes RMB 1.1925 billion Series B financing[6]
iSpace announced that it completed a RMB 1.1925 billion Series B financing. The company said the funds would mainly support development of its Hyperbola launch-vehicle series and Focus reusable liquid-oxygen methane engines, as well as talent development.
Sources6 sources
Cite this profile: Cite the canonical profile. /brand-wiki/i-space · Editorial policy · How profiles are compiled