Hongqing Technology, the satellite manufacturing arm of Chinese launch company Landspace, announced on July 2 that it has raised more than 1.3 billion yuan ($191 million) in a new funding round -- one of the largest single investments ever secured by a Chinese commercial satellite maker.

The round was jointly led by investment affiliates of China Construction Bank and ICBC, alongside Jinpu Capital. Notably, the investor list also includes Bank of China, Bank of Communications, Agricultural Bank, and CITIC-linked vehicles, meaning all five of China's major state-owned banks participated through their investment arms. Several of these participated via their financial asset investment companies (AICs), which have been empowered since late 2024 to invest directly in strategic technology sectors.

Hongqing Technology was founded in 2017 with Landspace as its largest shareholder. The company describes itself as China's only integrated satellite constellation solution provider with synergistic rocket-satellite capabilities. Landspace operates the methane-fueled Zhuque-2E rocket and is working to bring its reusable, stainless-steel Zhuque-3 -- designed for megaconstellation launches -- into regular service. A static fire test for the Zhuque-3 Y2 took place on June 29.

Headquartered in Beijing's E-Town aerospace district, Hongqing produces flat-panel stackable satellites using in-house subsystems including the Jinwu-200 krypton Hall thruster. The company operates a testing facility in Shanghai and an intelligent satellite manufacturing base in Xiong'an, with a target annual production capacity of 100 to 500 satellites by 2026.

In May 2024, Hongqing filed the Honghu-3 constellation plan with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), proposing 10,000 satellites across 160 orbital planes. If approved, it would become China's third 10,000-plus satellite constellation project, following the national Guowang program and Shanghai's Qianfan (Thousand Sails) constellation. It remains unclear whether the filing has received project approval from China's National Development and Reform Commission.

The funding round brings Hongqing's total financing to more than 2.5 billion yuan ($368 million). The company said the capital will be used for operations, research and development, and team expansion.

Further Reading

https://spacenews.com/chinese-satellite-manufacturer-hongqing-raises-191-million/