Deep Blue Aerospace
Deep Blue Aerospace (深蓝航天) is a Chinese commercial aerospace company founded in 2016 that develops liquid reusable launch vehicles (Nebula series) and kerosene-liquid oxygen pintle injector rocket engines (Thunder series), with extensive use of metal 3D printing for engine component manufacturing.
- CEO / Founder
- Huo Liang (霍亮)
- Team Size
- 201-500
- Stage
- Growth Stage
- Total Funding
- $252M
- Latest Round
- Series C
- Key Investors
- Shunwei Capital; Zhencheng Investment; CMBC International Holdings; Founder Hesen; Wuxi High-tech Zone Investment Holding Group; Taishan Industrial Development Investment Group; Detong Capital; Galaxy Venture Capital; Zhengyue Investment
Technology & Products
Key Products
Nebula-1 (星云一号) reusable liquid rocket - 2,000kg to LEO, 3.35m diameter; Nebula-2 (星云二号) reusable liquid rocket - 25,000kg+ to LEO, 5.0m diameter; Thunder R (雷霆R) kerosene-liquid oxygen pintle injector engine - 237kN sea level / 268kN vacuum, 40-110% throttle; Thunder RS (雷霆RS) kerosene-liquid oxygen pintle injector engine - 1,240kN sea level / 1,480kN vacuum, 50-110% throttle
Technological Advantage
First Chinese company to achieve liquid oxygen-kerosene VTVL (vertical takeoff and vertical landing) flight test (2021); first Chinese company to develop and test pintle injector engines; extensive metal 3D printing (LPBF) for engine components using Farsoon FS621M systems; engine thrust chamber efficiency improved from 95% to 99% through 3D printing design optimization; additive manufacturing base in Taian capable of producing 160 engines annually
Differentiation
Value Proposition
Developing China's first commercially viable reusable liquid rockets using pintle injector technology and extensive 3D printing to dramatically reduce launch costs and increase launch frequency
How They Differentiate
Deep Blue Aerospace is the only Chinese commercial rocket company that has focused exclusively on liquid reusable rockets since inception (2016). They pioneered pintle injector technology in China (similar to SpaceX Merlin engines), and extensively use metal 3D printing (LPBF) to manufacture rocket engine components - including nozzle extensions, injector heads, and combustion chambers - reducing production cycles to under one month. Their Thunder RS engine is the largest 3D-printed rocket engine in China.
Market & Competition
Target Customers
Satellite constellation operators (LEO mega-constellations), government space agencies, commercial satellite companies, space tourism customers
Industry Verticals
Commercial Space Launch; Satellite Deployment; Space Tourism; Aerospace Manufacturing
Competitors
LandSpace (蓝箭航天) - Zhuque-3 stainless steel methane rocket; Space Pioneer (天兵科技) - Tianlong-3 kerosene rocket; Galactic Energy (星河动力) - Pallas-1 rocket
Growth & Milestones
Major Milestones
2016: Company founded; 2019: Seed funding from Shunwei Capital; 2021-07: First Chinese liquid oxygen-kerosene VTVL flight test; 2021-10: 100-meter VTVL test; 2022-05: Kilometer-level VTVL test; 2024-09: 179-second high-altitude VTVL test in Gobi Desert; 2025-03: B4 round of ~$69M; 2025: Target first orbital launch of Nebula-1 with recovery attempt; 2026: Nebula-2 development; 2027: Target suborbital space tourism flights
Notable Customers
Chinese government satellite programs; Guowang and Qianfan mega-constellation projects (target customers)