Jiuzhou Yunjian

Jiuzhou Yunjian (九州云箭, literally "Nine Provinces Cloud Arrow") is a Chinese private rocket company founded in 2017 and headquartered in Beijing, developing liquid-fueled, reusable launch vehicles targeting China's rapidly growing commercial satellite launch market — operating in a competitive ecosystem alongside LandSpace, Galactic Energy, iSpace, and CAS Space.

The company focuses on liquid oxygen and methane (methalox) propulsion technology for its Kunpeng engine series, following the global trend toward methane propellants that promise lower soot formation (enabling rapid reuse without extensive cleaning), potential future compatibility with in-situ resource utilization on Mars, and performance characteristics competitive with RP-1 at favorable propellant cost profiles. Jiuzhou Yunjian conducted static fire tests of its methane engines at national rocket test facilities, validating combustion stability and thrust performance for its planned launch vehicles.

The company's development roadmap targets a small-lift first vehicle providing hundreds of kilograms to LEO as a technology demonstration and early revenue platform, with a medium-lift reusable vehicle as the ultimate commercial goal — pursuing the vertical landing first-stage recovery model pioneered by SpaceX Falcon 9 that China's commercial launch sector is broadly developing.

China's commercial launch market has been supported by government policy enabling private capital in the space sector since 2015, generating strong domestic demand from remote sensing, IoT, and broadband satellite constellation operators seeking launch services beyond CNSA's government launch manifest. Jiuzhou Yunjian raised institutional funding from Chinese aerospace investment funds.