On June 7, Dahianyue released a key signal through the official official account: its self-developed 150 ton liquid oxygen methane engine "Qingyu-11" has successfully completed a number of core development tests. For this commercial rocket company, which has only been established for just over two years, this series of key breakthroughs is not just a technical milestone achievement, but also a declaration about the future low-cost space transportation and competition for commercial niche.
In the aerospace field, the engine is known as the heart of a rocket, directly determining whether a rocket can fly, how much cargo it can transport, how cheap it can fly, and whether it can be reused. The "Qingyu-11" is the "big heart" designed for reusability, centered around three main lines: high reliability, large capacity, and low cost from the beginning of its design. Recent experiments have comprehensively verified the performance of core components and the reliability of hardware design. The project is about to enter the stage of semi system and full system test drive, which means that Dahang has transitioned from drawings to product closed-loop in the field of reusable rocket power self-developed.
Returning to the business logic itself, the true value of the "Qingyu-11" lies in providing a scarce supply solution for "universal space transportation". By combining a 150 ton thrust, deep reusability, and an affordable liquid oxygen methane fuel path, multiple machines in parallel can leverage the ultra large orbital transport capacity with the ultimate cost-effectiveness. As the industry enters the era of high-frequency launches represented by low orbit satellite networking and giant constellation replenishment, whoever controls reliable and inexpensive high thrust engines holds the trump card to undertake massive launch orders. Looking deeper, this kind of transportation capacity will also become the logistics foundation for the construction of next-generation space-based infrastructure such as space computing power and space photovoltaics - without large capacity and low-cost rockets, there is no grand plan to deploy high-density computing clusters or GW level space solar power plants in orbit.
At the same time as the surging heartbeat of this self-developed heart, the development potential of Dahang Leap is becoming increasingly clear. The "Leap One" rocket planned by the company, as the first domestically developed reusable liquid rocket with a "chopstick holder" tower, is scheduled to make its maiden flight in 2027. As the Qingyu-11 gradually enters the mass production stage, Dahang Leap will truly have the capacity to supply the required commercial closed-loop transportation. Against the backdrop of commercial aerospace being included in government work reports and reusable rockets entering the first year of centralized verification, enterprises with autonomous power of hundreds of tons naturally have deeper moats and higher flexible cost structures, and are expected to transition from technological breakthroughs to industry rule makers.
