Private rocket enterprises in China typically start with developing small and medium-sized rockets, but a Beijing-based startup is breaking that pattern by designing a launch vehicle more capable than the Long March 5, the nation's most powerful operational carrier rocket.

The company, FSTSpace, said that its engineers are working on a large reusable rocket model called Qitian 2, with its debut flight aimed for 2028.

According to the company, the two-stage Qitian 2 will be 88 meters tall and have a diameter of 6 meters, and it will be constructed primarily from stainless steel. Its first stage will be powered by nine Huosheng 1 engines, while the second stage will use a vacuum variant of the Huosheng 1 engine.

The rocket will weigh about 1,050 metric tons when fully fueled, and can generate about 1,300 tons of liftoff thrust. It is designed to deliver 33 tons of payload to a standard low-Earth orbit, the company said.

Once the rocket reaches a predetermined altitude, the first-stage booster will separate and return to Earth for landing at a predesignated site. Following inspection and maintenance, it is expected to be reused up to nine times, which FSTSpace said will significantly reduce launch costs.

The company was established in December 2024 by two senior engineers with experience at major State-owned and private space enterprises, and focuses on heavy-lift reusable rockets. It joins a growing list of private companies seeking to commercialize China's space industry, encouraged by policies aiming to expand the sector and support new business models in an era increasingly defined by large-scale space-based infrastructure such as Starlink, a satellite internet constellation.

Gao Yufeng, co-founder and CEO of FSTSpace, told China Daily that engineers have recently completed a key ground test of the Huosheng 1 engine, which is the rocket's core propulsion system.

During the hot-fire test, a prototype of the engine's oxidizer-rich preburner operated smoothly across multiple scenarios.

After reviewing the results, engineers confirmed the reliability of the combustion, heat resistance, pressure and temperature control, and leak and vibration prevention systems, he said.

"We will conduct a series of critical tests in the near future to advance development and verification of the Huosheng 1 engine.

"The company aims to complete assembly, rollout and full-system hot-fire testing of all of the first engines by the end of 2026, so we can provide a reliable propulsion system for the planned debut flight of Qitian 2," Gao said.

Once the rocket enters commercial service, the company expects a launch price of 10,000 yuan ($1,479) per kilogram of payload, Gao said, adding that it will take about six months to prepare a rocket for flight after an order is placed.

zhaolei@chinadaily.com.cn