In “A rocket company without a self-developed engine, does it still have a chance?” “We mentioned in “The engine is the core that rocket companies must master.
So, how many engine factories does China Commercial Aerospace already have? Who has truly mastered large-scale manufacturing capabilities? How many engines will be needed in the future reusable era?
In the past few years, a number of liquid engine production bases have been built and put into operation, from Blue Arrow Aerospace and Tianbing Technology to Jiuzhou Yunjian, Tianhui Aerospace, and the Sixth Academy of Aerospace Science and Technology. Industry competition is also moving from “making engines” to “volume manufacturing”.
Today, we will take stock of the current status of China’s commercial aerospace engine industry through a set of data.
01
How many engine factories are there in China?
If you look at the numbers alone, this is already a very large industry. For comparison, China completed 92 launch rocket launches throughout 2025. Even if the future mainstream reusable rocket is configured with nine engines in the first stage, the current engine production capacity is much higher than the actual launch demand at this stage.
But the real problem in the liquid engine industry is never how many can be built, but how well they perform and how reusable they are.
02
Which companies have mass production capabilities?
Tianbing Technology has completed the development of Tianhuo series engines and built an engine production base, but its reusable rocket still needs to be further verified through subsequent flights; China Aerospace is advancing the development of Liqing II engine, and its current liquid rocket mainly uses YF-102 series engines; Star Glory, Galaxy Power, Deep Blue Aerospace, Eastern Space and other companies have also established engine manufacturing bases, but the engines are still waiting for first flight verification.
Another type of player is power system companies that specialize in engine development. They don’t build rockets, they power rocket companies.
The most representative company among them is Jiuzhou Cloud Arrow. In 2025, the Longyun engine was successfully put into orbit along with the Long March 12A, achieving an important breakthrough for commercial power system companies. Although recovery verification has not yet been completed, it has demonstrated its flight capabilities. In the future, the Longyun engine will also support the first flights of Yuanxingzhe 1, AS-1, Houyi 1 and other rockets.
In addition, companies such as Aerospace Propulsion, Tianhui Aerospace, and Juqing Technology have also built engine production lines. These companies are copying the development path of the aerospace engine industry – becoming independent suppliers rather than being tied to a single rocket model. It is still worth watching who can successfully enter the commercial rocket industry in the future.
03
Hundred-ton engines become mainstream
04
How many engines are needed in the reusable era?
05
The real bottleneck is the verification system
For many companies, the factory has been built and the engine has been manufactured. What is really waiting in line are test drives and flight verification opportunities.
Conclusion
With 22 engine factories, a planned production capacity of nearly 4,000 units, and 88 engines under development and in service, it looks very lively.
But what really determines the industry structure is who can take the lead in completing a complete engineering closed loop of flight verification, recycling and reuse, rapid refurbishment, and high-frequency launch.
Because the engine is the core capability in the rocket industry chain that is the most difficult to copy, the most difficult to verify, and the easiest to form barriers.
Special Solicitation for “2026 China’s Top 10 New Tracks for Space Computing Power”
Hello Space｜Commercial aerospace industry information and service platform
