The Feiyan-2, China’s most powerful liquid-fuel launch vehicle, is nearing final assembly. However, its R&D team faces a practical challenge: standing nearly 100 meters tall with a diameter of 6.5 meters, the rocket is virtually impossible to transport by road.
Their solution: build the factory on the banks of the Yangtze River, enabling direct water transportation upon completion.Thus, the Feiyan Rocket Intelligent Manufacturing Base has settled in Jiangyin — known as China’s No.1 Manufacturing County.
According to news released on March 11, the Feiyan Rocket Intelligent Manufacturing Base, with a total investment of 2 billion yuan, was officially signed and settled in the Jiangyin Lingang Development Zone on March 10.
Built for Extra-Large Rockets Along the Yangtze River
Located in Jiangyin Lingang Development Zone, the base covers a planned land area of approximately 231 mu, focusing on the R&D and production of two liquid launch vehicles: Feiyan-1 and Feiyan-2.
The project will be developed in three phases:
Phase 1: Total investment of 600 million yuan, covering 64 mu, with a construction area of 35,000 square meters. It will be built on the existing hydrogen energy industrial park and is scheduled to start production in June 2026.
Phase 2: Planned area of 40 mu.
Phase 3: 128 mu reserved for future expansion.
Upon full operation after 2029, the project is expected to achieve an annual sales revenue of 3 billion yuan and annual tax revenue of 300 million yuan.
The location choice is driven by the logistical demands of such an extra-large rocket. As introduced by the project team, the nearly 100-meter-tall Feiyan rocket cannot be transported over land.
Jiangyin boasts a deep-water shoreline along the Yangtze River, allowing completed large rockets to be directly shipped to launch sites by water, solving the transportation bottleneck for oversized launch vehicles.
The first rocket is scheduled to arrive in Jiangyin by water at the end of May this year for final assembly and commissioning.
Founded by a Former “National Team” with Independent Core Technologies
The project is developed by Jiangsu Zhilin Space Equipment Technology Co., Ltd.
Founded in 2021, the company was established by Wang Zhi, a researcher and doctoral supervisor at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, together with several retired chief commanders and chief designers from the aerospace industry.
Since 2021, the company has focused on breakthroughs in fairing and propellant tank technologies, completing technical verification in 2023. It now has more than 20 professional aerospace technicians.
Note: Fairings are streamlined structures at the top of rockets to protect payloads such as satellites. Propellant tanks store rocket propellants (fuel and oxidizer). Both are core components of liquid rockets.
The Feiyan-2 is China’s most powerful liquid launch vehicle, adopting liquid propulsion technology with full independent intellectual property rights, reaching international advanced levels in launch cost, reliability and other key indicators.
After its maiden flight, the company will undertake satellite launch missions for China Star Network and Yuanxin Satellite, both leading national low-orbit satellite constellation projects.
“One-Hour Supply Chain” Backed by Jiangyin’s Advanced Manufacturing Strength
“Many of our tier-1 suppliers are located in Jiangyin and surrounding areas, forming a one-hour supply chain,” said Wang Lei, Deputy General Manager and Co-founder of Feiyan Rocket.
Jiangyin is known as China’s No.1 Manufacturing County, with profound industrial capabilities in special steel, high-end welding, precision machining and more.
Jiangyin Tiantian Container Manufacturing has supported the testing of key components such as rocket shells since 2019.
“The key reasons we chose Jiangyin are its fast project implementation and convenient port access, which perfectly meet our core needs,” said a project representative.
Jiangyin now has 20 industrial chain enterprises covering rocket manufacturing, satellite applications and ground equipment, forming a complete ecosystem from material R&D to system integration and testing.
In 2025, Jiangyin launched 10 new commercial aerospace projects with a total investment of 5.8 billion yuan.
“We hope to join hands with local leading enterprises, universities and investors to build a regional aerospace industrial cluster and form a 10-billion-level aerospace industry ecosystem in Jiangyin,” Wang Lei added.
As a chain-leading project, the settlement of the Feiyan Rocket base is accelerating the formation of Jiangyin’s commercial aerospace industry map.
Conclusion
The Feiyan Rocket Intelligent Manufacturing Base lands in Jiangyin at a critical stage when China’s commercial aerospace industry moves from technical verification to large-scale commercialization.
In 2025 alone, China completed 92 space launches, including 50 commercial launches — accounting for more than half for the first time. Of the 377 spacecraft orbited, 309 were commercial satellites, representing 82%.
In 2026–2027, China’s commercial rockets are expected to reach a tipping point where reusable rocket technology shifts from verification to high-frequency, reliable operation. This breakthrough will drastically reduce launch costs and drive rapid industrial scaling.
Commercial aerospace has become the main growth engine of China’s space industry. Low-orbit satellite constellations represented by China Star Network and Yuanxin Satellite are accelerating deployment, creating strong demand for launch vehicles.
With rocket-speed development, commercial aerospace is bringing comprehensive opportunities to upstream and downstream suppliers in intelligent manufacturing — from chips and components to high-end equipment and advanced processes.
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