Nebula-1 (Xingyun-1 or XY-1, Chinese: 星云一号) is an under-development, two-stage, small-lift partially recoverable launch vehicle with the capacity to lift up to two tonnes into Low Earth orbit. It is the first orbital launch vehicle by Chinese commercial firm Deep Blue Aerospace (Deep Blue) and it employs kerosene and liquid oxygen for propulsion. The first flight of the rocket is anticipated to occur in 2026.
History
As part of the development process for the partially reusable Nebula-1 launch vehicle, Deep Blue has carried out a series of vertical-takeoff-vertical-landing (VTVL) tests.
On October 13, 2021, Deep Blue completed a 100-meter level launch and landing test with its Nebula M1 VTVL test stage.[3]
On May 6, 2022, the Nebula M1 completed a one kilometer test, which included a vertical takeoff and vertical landing (VTVL), above Tongchuan, Shaanxi Province.[4]
On September 22, 2024, Deep Blue conducted a 10 km VTVL hop test, which featured the first flight of the Thunder-R kerosene-liquid oxygen engines (three of which were used on this flight). The test ended with a hard landing[vague]; nevertheless, the company completed 10 of its 11 objectives[specify] during the test flight.[5]
Sometime between July 28 and August 2, 2025, Deep Blue likely conducted a fourth VTVL test with a Nebula 1 test-stage. Satellite imagery of Deep Blue’s launch site at Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, when compared to satellite imagery taken on July 28, suggests that the test-stage may have crashed.[6]
On 30 September 2025, Deep Blue announced that is has successfully completed a static-fire test of Nebula-1’s second-stage engine. The second-stage engine and its power system functioned stably and continuously for 308 seconds.[7][2]
On 1 November 2025, Deep Blue successfully carried out a nine-engine full-system static-fire test of Nebula-1’s first stage propulsion system under simulated flight conditions, including “…pre-launch preparation, kerosene loading, liquid oxygen loading, engine pre-cooling, pre-launch pressurization, engine ignition, and shutdown processes. It was a comprehensive verification of the entire chain of systems, including rocket structure, ground launch support, propulsion, control, and safety control.”[8][1]
Launches
First flight of the Nebula-1 is anticipated to occur in 2026.
| Flight No. |
Rocket | Serial No. | Date/Time (UTC) |
Launch site | Payload | Orbit | Outcome | Booster Recovery |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | XY-1 | Y1 | NET Q2 2026[9] | Dong Fang Hang Tian Gang, Shandong | TBD | LEO | Planned | Planned |
| First flight of Nebula-1. | ||||||||
See also
- Deep Blue Aerospace
- Comparison of orbital launcher families
- Comparison of orbital launch systems
- Reusable launch vehicle
- Expendable launch system
- Lists of rockets
Launch systems of comparable class and technology
References
- ^ a b c d “Re: Maiden – Xingyun-1 – Hainan CSLS – Early 2026 (Reply #4)”. nasaspaceflight.com. 3 November 2025. Retrieved 21 January 2026.
- ^ a b “Re: Maiden – Xingyun-1 (Reply #2)”. nasaspaceflight.com. 30 September 2025. Retrieved 21 January 2026.
- ^ Jones, Andrew (13 October 2021). “Deep Blue Aerospace conducts 100-meter VTVL rocket test”. spacenews.com. Retrieved 21 January 2026.
- ^ Jones, Andrew (7 May 2022). “Deep Blue Aerospace completes kilometer-level rocket launch and landing test”. SpaceNews. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
- ^ “Deep Blue Aerospace hop test suffers anomaly moments before landing”. SpaceNews. 22 September 2024. Retrieved 21 January 2026.
- ^ Congram, Jack (6 August 2025). “Rocket Boat, Rocket Crash, Rocket Buildings: China in Space”. China in Space. Retrieved 20 September 2025.
- ^ ““星云一号”火箭二子级动力系统308秒长程试车圆满成功”. mp.weixin.qq.com. 30 September 2025. Retrieved 21 January 2026.
- ^ “星云一号一级动力系统九机并联试车圆满成功”. mp.weixin.qq.com. 2 November 2025. Retrieved 21 January 2026.
- ^ “鼠标一拖一点，项目选址又快又准” (in Chinese). 9 May 2026.