Deep Blue Aerospace

BPrivateFounded 2016🇨🇳Nantong, Jiangsu, China

CEO

Huo Liang

Data verified as of Jul 11, 2026

Summary

Deep Blue Aerospace (深蓝航天) is a Chinese commercial launch startup built around vertically landing, reusable kerosene–liquid oxygen rockets — positioning itself as one of China's closest analogs to early SpaceX. Founded in 2016 and headquartered in Nantong, it has flown a series of VTVL hop tests, most notably a September 2024 high-altitude flight that completed 10 of 11 objectives with ~0.5 m landing accuracy before an anomaly during the final engine shutdown damaged the stage on touchdown. The company is now preparing the maiden flight of its medium-lift Nebula-1, which can loft up to 2,000 kg to LEO on nine Thunder-R engines and is designed for first-stage recovery; the first Nebula-1A vehicle was rolled out in March 2026 to a new sea-recovery pad on Lianli Island at Haiyang — which reached full launch-capable status after an integrated test mission on March 30–31, 2026 — for a debut orbital flight, now targeted for mid-2026, that will attempt a first-stage splashdown recovery. Deep Blue is also developing the much larger Nebula-2 (25,000+ kg to LEO) and has begun pre-selling suborbital space-tourism tickets for flights targeted in 2027.

Main Products

Nebula-1

In Development

Two-stage, partially reusable kerosene–liquid oxygen medium-lift rocket with a vertically landing first stage powered by nine Thunder-R engines. The Nebula-1A debut variant adds grid fins and sea-recovery capability for a first-stage splashdown.

First Nebula-1A erected on a new Haiyang sea-recovery pad in March 2026 after second- and first-stage static fires in late 2025; the pad passed an integrated test mission on March 30–31, 2026. The debut flight, now targeted for mid-2026, will attempt a first-stage splashdown recovery.

Payload to LEO2,000 kg

Height30.2 m

First-Stage Diameter3.35 m

First-Stage Engines9 × Thunder-R (~198 t total)

ReusableYes (first stage)

PropellantKerosene / liquid oxygen

Thunder-R Engine

In Development

Reusable kerosene–liquid oxygen rocket engine in Deep Blue's Leiting (Thunder) family, generating about 22 tons of thrust. Nine Thunder-R engines power the Nebula-1 first stage.

Completed a nine-engine, full-system first-stage static fire under simulated flight conditions in November 2025, clearing a key milestone ahead of Nebula-1's debut.

Thrust~22 t (sea level)

PropellantKerosene / liquid oxygen

ReusableYes

Cluster9 engines (Nebula-1 first stage)

What's Next

Nebula-1 maiden flight & first-stage recovery

Fly the first Nebula-1A from the now fully operational Haiyang sea pad and attempt a controlled first-stage splashdown/recovery to validate both orbital insertion and vertical recovery in a single mission. The mid-2026 target has slipped: as of July 2026 the debut remains unflown, with launch trackers listing the demo flight no earlier than December 2026.

Late 2026

Begin reusable orbital launch services

Turn a successful debut into first-stage reuse and recurring commercial small/medium launches for China's satellite-internet and Earth-observation constellations.

2026-2027

Develop Nebula-2 heavy-lift rocket

Advance the larger 5 m-diameter Nebula-2, designed to carry more than 25,000 kg to LEO, to broaden Deep Blue's reach into heavy constellation deployment.

2026+

First crewed suborbital tourism flight

Mature the suborbital tourism vehicle toward its first paying passengers after pre-selling 1.5 million-yuan tickets, with service targeted for 2027.

2027

Track Record

0 of 1 announced date hit · 1 slipped

Nebula-1 maiden flight & first-stage recovery in mid-2026

Target Mid-2026 · Resolved Jul 11, 2026

Mid-2026 passed without the Nebula-1 debut, extending a slip history that stretches back to an originally planned late-2024 first flight; launch trackers now list the demo flight no earlier than December 2026. The milestone was rescheduled to late 2026.

Slipped

Recent News

View all →

Jun 30

Deep Blue Aerospace sets Nebula-1 maiden flight for June 30

Deep Blue Aerospace scheduled the debut test flight of its reusable Nebula-1 rocket for June 30 from a sea-launch pad at Haiyang's Oriental Spaceport. The 30.2-meter vehicle, powered by nine Thunder-R engines for about 198 tons of thrust and rated for 2,000 kg to low Earth orbit, was to fly a suborbital profile and attempt a controlled vertical landing at sea, supported by the company's newly readied recovery ship. The debut booster carries grid fins but no landing legs, framing the flight as a key reusability demonstration.

Operations & Revenue

StatusPre-orbital — in development

Deep Blue has completed an extensive VTVL hop-test campaign but has not yet reached orbit. The first Nebula-1A was rolled out to a new sea-recovery pad at Haiyang in March 2026 — which passed an integrated test mission on March 30–31, 2026 to become fully launch-capable — for a debut orbital flight, targeted for mid-2026, that will attempt a first-stage splashdown; as of early July 2026 the flight had not yet been confirmed. The heavy-lift Nebula-2 and a crewed suborbital space-tourism vehicle remain in development.

Revenue Streams

Reusable Launch Services (planned)

Low-cost, high-cadence reusable launches on Nebula-1 (and later Nebula-2) for China's commercial satellite and mega-constellation market, once first-stage recovery and reuse are demonstrated.

Suborbital Space Tourism (planned)

Crewed suborbital tourism flights, with tickets pre-sold at 1.5 million yuan (~$210K) each ahead of a targeted 2027 service start.

Key Metrics

Est. Annual Revenue

Not publicly disclosed (pre-orbital; no commercial launch revenue yet)

Total Funding

~$252M (no new round disclosed since the 2024 ≈500M-yuan raise)

Nebula-1 Payload to LEO

2,000 kg

First-Stage Engines

9 × Thunder-R (~198 t total)

Orbital Launches

0 (Nebula-1 maiden flight targeted mid-2026)

Best VTVL Test

Sept 2024 high-altitude flight (10/11 objectives; crashed on landing)

Timeline

2026Nebula-1A rolled out and Haiyang pad goes operational

In March 2026 the first Nebula-1A is erected on a newly built sea-recovery launch pad on Lianli Island at Haiyang, Shandong. An integrated test mission on March 30–31, 2026 demonstrated the platform's full capability to support rocket launches, clearing the way for a debut orbital flight — now targeted for mid-2026 — that will attempt a first-stage splashdown recovery.

2025Nebula-1 stage static fires & new funding

Deep Blue static-fires the Nebula-1 second stage in September 2025 and completes a nine-engine first-stage static fire under simulated flight conditions in November 2025, after raising roughly 500 million yuan ($68.9M) toward the rocket's debut.

2024High-altitude hop test crashes on landing

On September 22, 2024, a Nebula-1 first stage flies a high-altitude VTVL test from the Ejin Banner site in Inner Mongolia, completing 10 of 11 verification objectives with ~0.5 m landing accuracy before an anomaly during the final engine shutdown causes a hard, damaging landing.

2024Pre-sells suborbital space-tourism tickets

In October 2024 Deep Blue begins a livestreamed pre-sale of suborbital space-tourism tickets at 1.5 million yuan (~$210K) each, targeting first crewed tourist flights in 2027.

2021First VTVL hop tests

Deep Blue conducts low-altitude vertical-takeoff/vertical-landing hop tests with a Nebula-1 test article powered by its Leiting (Thunder) kerolox engine, validating its reusable-rocket approach.

2016Founded

Huo Liang founds Deep Blue Aerospace in Nantong, Jiangsu, to develop low-cost, vertically landing reusable launch vehicles for China's commercial satellite market.

Funding

Round	Date	Amount	Investors	Source
Series A	2022-01	~$31.5M	Chinese venture and strategic investors
New funding round	2024	~$68.9M (≈500M yuan)	Undisclosed (toward Nebula-1 debut)