iSpace's Interstellar Return recovery vessel. Credit: iSpace
HELSINKI — Chinese reusable launch vehicle maker has secured a first batch of series E funding, months after a huge D++ round, with fundraising still ongoing.
The funding is the opening raise of a planned series E round, securing iSpace nearly $148 million (1 billion yuan), according to STCN, a Chinese financial news outlet. The round was dominated by asset investment companies affiliated with China’s major state banks, following a trend of such investment triggered by strong central government signalling of the strategic importance of commercial space.
The new funding will go towards research and mass production of the Hyperbola-3 reusable launch vehicle, the capacity to manufacture the Focus-2 methane-liquid oxygen engine, launch and sea recovery infrastructure, and the pre-research of heavy-lift launch vehicle technology.
The development follows iSpace securing a record $729 million in February this year, dedicated to reusable rocketry and expanding the company’s industrial footprint. That round was driven by government industrial funds, state-linked strategic ecosystem investors, municipal and provincial investment vehicles and private equity.
