The Chinese start-up Zenk Space attracted 26 million dollars ahead of the flight of its kerosene-oxygen-fueled Zhihang-1 rocket, scheduled for June 2026 year. This will be the company's first attempt at an orbital launch.
For reference: Zenk Space (Beijing Space Zhihang Technology Co., Ltd.) is a young private aerospace company, which develops reusable launch vehicles. Its main purpose is to launch cargo into orbit. Zenk Space has extensive local subsidiaries, including research and production facilities in Anqing City, Anhui Province. The company is known for its innovative scheme of partial salvage of the most expensive part of the rocket (engine compartment) with the help of parachutes and special inflatable cushions in the sea.
Before the funding round, which was led by Wenzhou Bay New Area Investment Group, entered Wenzhou Municipal State Investment Company, Eastern New City Group, state investment structures at the city and district levels, as well as private equity investor Yarong Ventures.
Zhihang-1 is a long-range missile 49,8 meter and diameter 3,35 city, which runs on kerosene-oxygen fuel. She is able to bring out 4000 kg of payload for a 500-kilometer sun-synchronous orbit. In February of this year, the company successfully conducted the first-stage fire static test on the mobile offshore platform HOS-1 off the coast of Shandong Province.
Zenk Space plans partial return of Zhihang-1 first stage engine compartment as part of phased program to develop reusable launch vehicles. The first stage of the rocket will not return completely. The engine compartment section will separate from the first stage after the second stage has separated. Thermal protection will help with high-speed entry into the atmosphere, after which the parachutes will deploy to slow down the descent, and the airbags will ensure buoyancy after a crash. The engines can then be restored, verify, renovate and potentially integrate with the new first stage. This plan resembles the SMART recovery system, which was studied by the United Launch Alliance.
The emergence of a launch vehicle company with an industrial presence in Anhui province is part of a broader trend in China's space industry. China already has large established space clusters around Beijing, Shanghai and Xi'an, as well as new centers in such cities, like Wuhan and Guangzhou. At the same time, many other provinces are forming their own space policies: they try to attract and develop high-tech enterprises to stimulate economic growth, guided by signals from the central government. Commercial financing rounds often involve local and provincial investment structures, which directly support the construction of industrial facilities.
Source: https://spacenews.com