Astronstone's stainless steel rocket stage and AS-1 scale model inside a production facility in China, featuring prominent weld lines and branding; a large banner on the wall displays Chinese characters.
An Astronstone stainless steel common bulkhead tank. Credit: Astronstone

HELSINKI — Astronstone, one of China’s newest commercial launch startups, has raised early-stage funding for a stainless steel, reusable launch vehicle modeled on SpaceX’s Starship system.

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Andrew Jones writes about China's space industry, including civilian programs, space science and exploration, policy, and commercial developments for SpaceNews, and writes the China Report newsletter. He has additional bylines in Scientific American,...