HELSINKI — Commercial launch company Orienspace has kicked off preparations for an IPO coaching process while closing a funding round for accelerating its reusable Gravity-2 rocket.

The Shandong-based company, formally known as Orienspace (Shandong) Technology Co., Ltd., announced the pre-C round worth several hundred million yuan (100 million yuan = $14.8 million) Aug. 5, with participation from investors including Vertex Capital, Shanghai STVC, AVIC Honghua, and Yuanyou Ruize.

Orienspace said the funds will go toward research, development and production of Gravity-2, a large liquid-propellant reusable rocket the company is positioning as a contribution to China’s required capabilities to get megaconstellation projects deployed in orbit.

Gravity-2 is a two-stage reusable liquid propellant launcher with a length of 70 meters, a diameter of 4.2 meters and capable of carrying 21,500 kilograms to low Earth orbit (LEO) when the first stage is expended, or 17,000 kg when recovered. The capacity to 500 km sun-synchronous orbit (SSO) is 15,000 kg and 11,900 kg respectively. The first stage is powered by nine Force-110 kerosene-liquid oxygen engines.

The investor group indicates institutional and state-linked capital rather than early-stage venture money, with Shanghai STVC’s involvement likely related to the city’s broader industrial strategy. In late July Orienspace conducted its third Gravity-1 solid rocket launch, also marking its first launch from the East China Sea rather than its usual site off Yantai, Shandong, and its first far-offshore mission.

Orienspace has raised twice already in 2026, and is reported to be close to completing its C-round. The company plans to complete a shareholding restructuring before the end of the year.

The move puts Orienspace among a growing cohort of Chinese commercial rocket makers, including LandSpace, CAS Space, Space Pioneer, and Galactic Energy, racing toward listings on Shanghai’s STAR Market, a trend driven by a rule-change directed at capital-intensive, high-technology firms such as launch companies, and strong central government policy signalling behind commercial space.

Orienspace is aiming to have Gravity-2 ready for launch in Q4 this year, according to recent reports, having previously targeted a debut launch in late 2025.

Orienspace was one of four commercial firms shortlisted earlier this year for future launches of a new space station cargo transport system.

The company was founded in 2020. It has research and development centers, rocket assembly and integration testing centers, and launch bases in Haiyang, Beijing, Xi’an, Wuxi and Wenchang. Orienspace has raised more than 1.7 billion yuan across five funding rounds, with more imminent, and the company’s product lines span the Gravity rocket family, Force engines, and Hongli space information equipment, spanning what it describes as an integrated research-testing-manufacturing-launch pipeline.