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Author: Huang Nan

Editor: Yuan Silai

Hard Krypton has exclusively learned that Jiangsu Deep Blue Aerospace Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Deep Blue Aerospace") recently completed its B2 round of financing, led by Wuxi High-tech Zone Investment and Control Group, and completed and locked in nearly 1 billion yuan in funds. The financing funds will be mainly used to strengthen technology research and development, expand production scale, optimize supply chain management, and accelerate market promotion.

"Deep Blue Aerospace" is a company that Hard Krypton has been paying attention to for a long time. The company was founded in 2016 and focuses on the research and development of liquid reusable launch vehicle technology and products, and provides commercial launch services.

With the advancement of global aerospace technology and the acceleration of commercialization, commercial aerospace has gradually become an important part of the aerospace field. According to data from the China Research Institute of Industry, the global aerospace economy will be worth about US$384 billion in 2022, of which the four major industries related to commercial satellites, namely rocket launches, satellite manufacturing, ground equipment and application services, account for 73% and reach US$281 billion.

In the 2024 National Government Work Report, commercial space was written into for the first time and was listed as a new growth engine together with biomanufacturing and low-altitude economy.

Deep Blue Aerospace is the first company in China to achieve kilometer-level rocket vertical take-off and landing recovery tests. Its rocket recovery technology includes rocket recovery control system, deep variable thrust liquid oxygen-kerosene rocket engine, landing leg extension and retraction, grid rudder control, etc., which can achieve soft landing recovery and reuse of rockets. Among them, the Nebula-1 rocket, as the core product of Deep Blue Aerospace, is a medium-sized two-stage liquid oxygen-kerosene reusable rocket.

On July 21, the Xingyun-1 successfully completed a series of tests of the first-stage three-engine parallel full-time power system at the Shenlan Jigang test base in Jinan, simulating the full working conditions of high-altitude recovery flight and a large range of engine variable thrust tests. The Xingyun-1 rocket is more than 30 meters high, with a body diameter of 3.35 meters. It is equipped with 10 Leiting-R1 liquid oxygen-kerosene engines, has the ability to enter orbit and recover sub-stages for reuse, has fast maintenance and can be launched twice, and can respond to low-cost, high-reliability, and high-frequency launch requirements.

Test data show that by reducing costs through multiple reuse, the price of rocket launch services is expected to be reduced to 1/2 or even less than 1/10 of the current price in the next 3-5 years.

Rocket test site

In terms of rocket production, Deep Blue Aerospace has established a rocket intelligent manufacturing and assembly base of over 20,000 square meters in Wuxi Hi-Tech Zone. With the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal as its background, the canal factory is mainly used for the mass production of Nebula-1 and Nebula-2 rockets. It can accelerate the expansion of the rocket industry cluster along the canal and will become a demonstration base for high-end manufacturing and commercial rocket industries in Wuxi Hi-Tech Zone.

Zhao Ya, executive president of Deep Blue Aerospace, told Hard Krypton, "Deep Blue Aerospace is the only company in China that has aimed at recovering reusable liquid rockets since its establishment. In the successful completion of the vertical take-off and landing recovery tests of 100-meter and kilometer-class rockets, the same rocket and the same engine were used. At the same time, we are also the first company in China to apply metal 3D printing technology to rocket engine production."

Compared with the 1 to 2 year production cycle of traditional engines, Deep Blue Aerospace can control the engine production cycle to within 1 week through metal 3D printing technology, which greatly shortens the overall production process of rocket engines, reduces production costs and organizational complexity. With the development of additive manufacturing technology industries such as 3D printing, the quality and performance of the parts produced will be superior, and the efficiency will be further improved.

Rocket engine test site

Hard Krypton learned that preparations for the first launch of the Nebula-1 rocket are underway, and a high-altitude vertical recovery flight test of the rocket's first stage will be conducted in August, and a 100-kilometer-level vertical recovery flight test will be conducted at an appropriate time. This is also the first high-altitude recovery test of a launch vehicle that can enter orbit in China, to ensure that the first flight of the Nebula-1 rocket into orbit and recovery will be successfully completed by the end of the year.

At the same time, the Nebula-2 rocket, which has a larger takeoff scale and can reach 1,000 tons, is scheduled to make its maiden flight at the end of 2025. This model also has the ability to be recovered and reused.

In the future, Deep Blue Aerospace will continue to increase its R&D investment in the field of reusable rocket technology, and plans to launch more types of launch vehicles in the future to meet different launch needs and explore more efficient, economical and environmentally friendly space launch solutions.

Investor comments:

Zhao Zhidong, Chairman of Wuxi High-tech Zone Venture Capital Holding Group Co., Ltd. He said that Deep Blue Aerospace focuses on the research and development of recyclable rockets and has made remarkable achievements in rocket recovery technology. The investment in Deep Blue Aerospace is another major layout of Wuxi High-tech Zone Investment and Control Group in the commercial aerospace track to strengthen and supplement the industrial chain of the High-tech Zone. We believe that the commercial aerospace industry can promote the construction of the "integrated space, earth and air" network layout and open up a new development track. It is a strategic emerging industry in my country and has become a new engine to drive economic development. Deep Blue Aerospace has a deep understanding of the rocket recyclable technology route and is leading the country. In the future, it will also join forces with local enterprises in Wuxi High-tech Zone to develop rapidly under the background of rapid growth in rocket transportation demand.