Source Code Capital-Backed Space Transportation Raises Nearly 100 Million Yuan in Pre-A Round, Source Code Capital Was Sole Angel Investor

源码资本·December 26, 2019·1·11

In just one year since its founding, the company has successfully completed two suborbital rocket flight tests, laying the groundwork for the future development of launch vehicles, high-speed transport, and space tourism.

On December 26, 2019, Space Transportation announced the completion of a nearly RMB 100 million Pre-A funding round, led by Volcanic Stone Capital, with follow-on investments from existing investor Source Code Capital, Keli Venture Capital, Yuanhe Origin, and Zhencheng Capital. Source Code Capital was the sole investor in Space Transportation's angel round.

In recent years, riding the wave of military-civilian integration, commercial aerospace companies have flourished. Rockets, satellites, telemetry and control, launch sites, and supporting industries have formed a complete commercial aerospace supply chain, gradually making commercial space a new investment track. Space Transportation is committed to providing customers with reliable, low-cost, and convenient space transportation services. Based on its technical advantages in rocket launch and reentry recovery, combined with the objective development patterns of China's commercial aerospace market, the company has mapped out its "Tianxing" series rocket roadmap to meet diverse needs spanning scientific experiments in aerospace, commercial small-satellite constellation launches, and crewed space tourism.

Space Transportation is a newcomer to commercial aerospace, but its team consists of veterans from the state aerospace system, with extensive engineering experience in design, production, and operations. The core technical team has worked together seamlessly for years and has already achieved a series of breakthroughs in commercial space.

Just six months after the company's founding, on April 23, 2019, the Tianxing I Y-1 rocket successfully ignited and completed its maiden flight. This test flight not only validated the overall rocket design and the environmental adaptability of onboard systems, but also achieved complete recovery of all customer payloads while obtaining full measurement data. It additionally verified multiple technologies including a dual waverider vehicle, cabin wireless communication systems, and wireless launch control. The mission set several records: shortest rocket development cycle, first complete payload recovery, first faceted-symmetric winged gliding deceleration and parachute recovery of a rocket, and first application of wireless launch control technology.

Tianxing I Y-1 rocket maiden flight

On December 23, 2019, Space Transportation successfully completed the Tianxing I Y-2 rocket test flight. This flight tested an advanced high-speed engine and high-speed laminar airfoil, gathering firsthand experimental data for developing key components of next-generation high-speed air transport systems; accumulated effective high-energy particle dosage data for future high-speed crewed flight safety assessment and protection; and trialed multiple new communication technologies, establishing a ground-to-air communication link in non-line-of-sight conditions without relay through an over-the-horizon low-frequency communication system.

Tianxing I Y-2 rocket flight video

Within one year, the company obtained all necessary industry qualifications for commercial rockets and was recognized as a national high-tech enterprise. It built a complete R&D team, established a research center, comprehensive laboratory, and final assembly and testing center, and equipped itself with full electrical testing and assembly, simulation testing, rocket final assembly and testing, and supercomputing facilities.

To date, the company has secured substantial orders and earned recognition from customers and the market. It has successfully completed two suborbital rocket test flights, serving four experimental customers and two commercial customers. While providing test platforms for high-speed flight research, it has accumulated extensive flight test data. By verifying key technologies for rocket reuse, it has laid groundwork for developing launch vehicles, high-speed transport, and space tourism.

This funding round will be used for development of the Tianxing I Y-3 rocket and subsequent vehicles, as well as proof-of-concept experiments and technology validation for more advanced rockets.

The founder and CEO of Space Transportation stated that the company will focus on the scientific experiment market, providing efficient, reliable, and economical flight test solutions for universities and research institutes, while gradually verifying key technologies for satellite launch and crewed space tourism — making rockets fly higher and farther, integrating space into everyday life, and bringing people closer together.

As a company director, Suyang Zhang, managing partner of lead investor Volcanic Stone Capital, said that China's commercial aerospace market is gradually opening up, driving growth in private-sector development of communication small satellites, rocket launches, satellite communication terminal equipment, and software applications. Space Transportation is a team that can deliver under pressure. In a short time, it has leveraged its technical advantages in launch and reentry recovery, aligned with the pace of China's commercial aerospace market, and chosen a pragmatic and reliable product iteration path that can meet market demands at different stages, from scientific experiments to commercial small-satellite constellations — something they are quite optimistic about.

As a company director, Yiwen Hao of Source Code Capital said that the Space Transportation team validated its technical approach and completed commercial launch orders in an extremely short time, with development speed exceeding expectations. He looks forward to the upcoming vehicle upgrades and multiple launches.

Zaiqi Chen, partner at Keli Venture Capital, said that Space Transportation has a top-tier spacecraft design team in China's commercial aerospace sector, with precise product positioning and a reasonable technology roadmap. Through multiple flight tests to optimize product performance, improve reliability, and reduce costs, it can provide better services to customers in China's flight test and satellite launch industries. Keli Venture Capital is willing to continue supporting the long-term development of companies like Space Transportation.

Qinglu Han, investment manager at Yuanhe Origin, said that Space Transportation is a commercial aerospace company dedicated to reusable rocket launch technology. The team has mature overall design capabilities and industry-leading technical approaches. While other commercial companies are heavily investing in rocket engines and complete vehicles, Space Transportation has differentiated itself by rapidly implementing reusable launch technology and solutions, significantly helping commercial rocket companies reduce launch costs. With the dual boost of policy and funding, Yuanhe Origin will strongly support high-barrier, capable companies like Space Transportation and is prepared for the long haul.

Jianwei Li, managing partner at Zhencheng Capital, said that Space Transportation's team has deep understanding of and extensive experience in the aerospace field. By using a novel horizontal recovery approach to achieve rocket reuse, they have the opportunity to substantially optimize rocket transport cost structures while reducing technical complexity, making rocket launches routine and low-cost. They look forward to Space Transportation carving out an entirely new path in rocket transport.