Chinese commercial space firm Galactic Energy said on Monday that one of its Ceres-1 rockets failed to reach orbit, preventing the delivery of its payload of satellites and marking a setback for one of the country’s leading private launch companies.
The Beijing-based company confirmed that the Ceres-1 mission did not achieve its intended orbit and that an investigation is underway to determine the cause. State news agency Xinhua reported that three satellites on board failed to reach their preset orbits as a result of the malfunction.
“We will thoroughly learn from the lessons of this mission failure, continuously optimize our rocket design and quality management systems, and carry on advancing China’s commercial space exploration with more reliable performance and steadier progress,” Galactic Energy said in a statement.
Founded in 2018, Galactic Energy has emerged as a key player in China’s fast-growing private space sector, conducting more than a dozen successful launches since 2023. The company’s Ceres-1 rocket, a four-stage solid-fueled vehicle, is primarily used to deploy small satellites into low Earth orbit.
The failure marks the firm’s second major setback, following a similar mishap in September 2023 that resulted in the loss of another Ceres-1 rocket and its payload.
The timing of Monday’s incident is significant, coming as Galactic Energy prepares for a potential initial public offering (IPO) in China. The company began the tutoring process for a listing last month, a required step before a public offering under Chinese securities regulations.
Investor confidence in China’s private space industry has been on the rise. Galactic Energy raised $337 million in a Series D funding round last month, led by both state-owned and private venture capital firms. Since 2021, the company has raised nearly 5 billion yuan ($702 million) — about ten times the total it secured between 2018 and 2020, according to Chinese corporate records.
Despite the failed mission, analysts say the company remains well-positioned in China’s competitive commercial launch sector, where firms are racing to provide low-cost access to space for the country’s rapidly expanding satellite market.
