A young Chinese startup named Mega Engine is advancing ground tests of a new reusable staged-combustion rocket engine, positioning itself in the rapidly developing ecosystem of high-performance launch propulsion in China. The company has reported progress in a test campaign involving multiple static fires and increasing durations, a key step toward a flight-ready reusable motor.
The engine is presented as a core building block for future reusable orbital launchers. Staged combustion, already used in several large Chinese engines, enables higher efficiency and chamber pressures than gas-generator cycles, making it a preferred choice for next-generation, partially or fully reusable vehicles. In China, this approach underpins major state and private programs, including high-thrust engines developed for future heavy-lift and lunar missions, as well as private methalox launchers targeting lower costs and rapid turnaround.
Mega Engine’s project emerges amid intense competition from firms such as LandSpace, Space Pioneer, Welight and Arktech, and from the national liquid propulsion institute. These actors collectively invest in staged-combustion and full-flow staged-combustion architectures, often with methalox propellants and thrust levels in the 100–250-ton range. While public technical details on Mega Engine remain limited, its test campaign illustrates how Chinese private industry is converging on reusable, high-performance engines as a strategic enabler for the country’s next generation of orbital launchers.