A new kind of start-up is taking off in China.

This is the NewLine Baby.

At 1.5 tonnes and 27 feet, it's much smaller than your average rocket but it's designed to be cheap and reusable.

Think SpaceX on a smaller scale.

The company behind this prototype, LinkSpace, is one of many Chinese rocket makers trying to make a business out of firing these into space.

And they'll carry shoebox-sized satellites for you at 'relatively' low prices.

These 'Nanosatellites' are expected to explode in the next few years.

They could help with anything from faster internet on planes to tracking shipments.

A handful of U.S. small-rocket companies have already had success.

One of the biggest, Rocket Lab, has put 25 satellites in orbit.

LinkSpace's 26-year-old CEO hopes they'll be the first Chinese firm to do it.

(SOUNDBITE)(Mandarin) CEO OF LINKSPACE HU ZHENYU, 26, SAYING: "When rockets change from being one-off to being reusable, the launching cost and reliability will be much more optimized - and I think that's essential for private companies who want to survive this industry in the next few years." So far it's smooth sailing.

NewLine Baby has successfully launched and landed for the second time in two months.

But lots of other companies in China have failed and it's a high-risk business: one unsuccessful launch might kill a company.

Eventually, LinkSpace hopes to charge no more than 4.5 million dollars per launch.

That's just a fraction of the 30 million dollars needed for the next alternative; the Pegasus - a commonly used small rocket.

After a fresh round of funding last year, Chinese companies like LinkSpace are pushing out prototypes, planning more tests and even proposing operational launches this year.

LinkSpace is hoping for their first 'orbital' launch in 2021.