The battle for the first commercial aerospace stock has officially begun
On March 31st, the IPO application of Zhongke Aerospace Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Zhongke Aerospace") on the Science and Technology Innovation Board was accepted.
This is another commercial aerospace company that has launched a sprint towards the Science and Technology Innovation Board after Blue Arrow Aerospace.
However, there are differences in the selection of listing standards between the two.
The fifth set of listing criteria for Blue Arrow Aerospace's application to the Science and Technology Innovation Board is "market value+phased achievements", which means "the expected market value is not less than RMB 4 billion, the main business or products need to be approved by relevant national departments, and the market space is large
But Zhongke Aerospace has chosen the second set of listing criteria, which are "expected market value not less than RMB 1.5 billion, operating revenue not less than RMB 200 million in the past year, and cumulative R&D investment accounting for no less than 15% of cumulative operating revenue in the past three years".
This choice is related to the fact that Zhongke Aerospace has taken the lead in forming large-scale revenue.
In fact, the performance scale of Blue Arrow Aerospace is relatively limited, with a revenue of only 4 million yuan in 2024.
In contrast, in the first three quarters of 2024 and 2025, the revenue of Zhongke Aerospace has reached 244 million yuan and 84 million yuan respectively, while the net loss for the same period still reached 861 million yuan and 750 million yuan.
The scale income obtained by Zhongke Aerospace Institute is mainly related to the increase in the number of launches. In 2024, it achieved three successful launches of carrier rockets, directly driving the growth of launch service revenue as its core business.
At present, Zhongke Aerospace has successfully achieved mass production launch of the Lijian-1 carrier rocket. On March 30th, its Lijian-2 Yaoyi carrier rocket, the International Fangdu, was also successfully launched, accurately sending the prototype spacecraft of Qingzhou (New Journey 02 satellite), New Journey 01 satellite, and Tianshi 01 satellite into the predetermined orbit.
According to information from China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, the first flight mission of the Lijian-2 Yao-1 carrier rocket International Fangdu mainly verifies three key technologies: CBC configuration application, design and manufacturing process of large-diameter optical cylinder storage tank structure, and large fairing flat throwing separation.
By the end of 2025, Zhongke Aerospace has accumulated a launch payload weight of over 11 tons, ranking first among China's private commercial launch vehicle enterprises. The main types of orders cover commercial, scientific research institutions, national missions, etc.
At present, Zhongke Aerospace is advancing the research and development of reusable launch vehicles, and plans to carry out the first flight of the two-stage large reusable liquid launch vehicle "Lijian-2 Heavy (PR-2H)" in 2028.
In this IPO, Zhongke Aerospace plans to raise 4.18 billion yuan for the construction of reusable large launch vehicles, spacecraft, engines, and other projects.
As Blue Arrow Aerospace and Zhongke Aerospace launch their sprint towards the Science and Technology Innovation Board, it is being closely watched whether more IPO applications from commercial aerospace players will be accepted in the future.
