KOUROU, French Guiana — China’s Zenk Space has secured 180 million yuan ahead of the planned June debut of its Zhihang-1 kerolox rocket, the company’s first orbital launch attempt.
Zenk Space raised $26 million (180 million yuan) in a round led by Wenzhou Bay New Area Investment Group, according to local Wenzhou news reports May 14. Wenzhou Municipal State Investment Company, Eastern New City Group, city and district level state-owned capital entities, and private investor Yarong Ventures also joined.
The funding will provide solid financial backing for the Zhihang-1 (ZH-1) inaugural mission and ensure all pre-launch activities proceed smoothly, the company said. A separate report May 16 stated the launch is scheduled for June.
Zhihang-1 is a 49.8-meter-long, 3.35m-diameter, kerosene-liquid oxygen launcher capable of 4,000 kilograms to a 500-kilometer Sun-synchronous orbit (SSO).
The rocket uses YF-102 kerosene-liquid oxygen engines purchased from state-owned CASC’s Academy of Aerospace Liquid Propulsion Technology. CAS Space’s Kinetica-1 and Space Pioneer’s Tianlong-2 also use the YF-102. Propellant tanks are sourced from commercial firm R-Space.
The first Zhihang-1 was transported to a rehearsal site via truck May 16. The company conducted a successful static fire test of its first stage in February 2026 using the HOS-1 mobile sea platform off the coast of Shandong province.
The company is planning partial engine recovery for the ZH-1, as part of an incremental plan to develop reusable launchers. The first stage of the ZH-1 will not be recovered, according to one presentation shared online, instead the engine bay section will separate from the first stage after second stage separation. Thermal protection will assist high-speed reentry through the atmosphere, before parachutes deploy to slow descent, with airbags for buoyancy after splashdown. The engines can then be recovered, inspected and refurbished and potentially integrated with a new first stage. The plan echoes the SMART recovery system studied by United Launch Alliance.
Zenk Space, full name Beijing Space Zhihang Technology Co., Ltd., has major local subsidiaries including research and development and manufacturing facilities in Anqing, Anhui province.
The emergence of a launch firm with an industrial presence in Anhui is part of a wider pattern in China’s growing space industry. While China has major established space clusters, such as in and around Beijing, Shanghai and Xi’an, and emerging clusters in places including Wuhan and Guangzhou, numerous provinces are forming enacting space policies, seeking to attract and foster space companies, both to deliver high-tech growth and following policy signals from the central government.
Commercial funding rounds frequently involve local and provincial investment vehicles which support the construction of industrial facilities.