Rockets, satellites, launch sites: China's commercial aerospace sector sees all-round development

China's commercial aerospace sector, highlighted as one of the country's strategic emerging industries at the Central Economic Work Conference held in December in Beijing, has seen an array of recent breakthroughs.

Most recently, a Smart Dragon-3 (SD-3) carrier rocket blasted off on Saturday, sending a group of nine satellites, including the world's first in-orbit AI commercial hypersatellite, into planned orbit.

With a carrying capacity of 1.5 tonnes to the sun-synchronous orbit, the four-stage commercial rocket SD-3 is deemed to be a cost-efficient launch vehicle for sending satellites to form constellations.

On the same day, a group of 11 Geely-02 satellites was sent into space to construct a future travel constellation which boasts full coverage combining multi-dimensional carriers such as automobiles and consumer electronics products, to enable smart travel, unmanned systems, smart cities and more.

On January 11, the Chinese start-up OrienSpace successfully launched Gravity-1, the world's most powerful solid propellant rocket. Last July, Zhuque-2 Y-2, developed by Chinese private space launch provider LandSpace, became the world's first methane-propelled rocket to successfully fly into orbit.

Meanwhile, more rocket companies have tested their reusable technologies, including the Kuaizhou, Hyperbola-2Y and Zhuque-3 rockets. 

Zhao Xiaolong, chairman of the China Commercial Space Alliance, told China Media Group (CMG) that the commercial aerospace industry is ushering in a historic opportunity for development.

"This will greatly improve the ability to obtain commercial remote sensing data and the level of application services, and the commercial aerospace will inject stronger impetus into the construction of a space power," said Zhao.

65% of satellite launches commercial in 2023

China has sent 270 satellites into space in the past year, of which 137 were commercial satellites, accounting for 65 percent. Thirteen of the launches were carried out by commercial rockets.

An accelerated pace can be anticipated in the country's commercial space development in 2024, and China is forecast to have more than 1,200 commercial satellites in orbit within five years, according to the CMG report.

Beijing is planning the establishment of a dedicated "Rocket Street" as a research and production hub for the advancement of commercial aerospace, according to Jiang Guangzhi, director of Beijing Municipal Bureau of Economy and Information Technology.

It has laid out measures for the development of a satellite internet industry and provided support for 41 commercialization launch projects, with funding exceeding 100 million yuan ($14.08 million).

Shanghai alone is expected to have an annual manufacturing capacity of 50 commercial rockets and 600 commercial satellites in 2025, according to Zhang Jueliang, director of the industrial promotion department at the office of the leading group for industrial collaboration and innovation in Shanghai.

Zhang said the city will also create about eight parks featuring spatial information industry, aiming to eventually form the industry with a target scale of 200 billion yuan (roughly $28 billion).

First commercial launch site

Launch sites, in addition to rockets and satellites, are an indispensable part of the commercial aerospace industry.

At the end of last year, a new launch pad was completed at the country's first commercial launch site, which is under construction in Wenchang City, south China's Hainan Province.

The commercial launch site has favorable geographical conditions as it is located close to the equator with low latitude, which will facilitate the launch with less energy and higher efficiency.

"Low latitude, wide launch range, safe landing area and convenient transportation can reduce propellant consumption and improve carrying capacity, thus reducing the cost of commercial rocket launch," Liu Chong, mayor of Wenchang and director of the Wenchang International Space City Administration, told CMG.

The launch site is designed to be usable by multiple types of rockets and expected to be put into service in 2024.

With the commercialization of rockets, satellites and launch sites, the industrial chain of China's commercial aerospace industry has started to take shape. It will operate in a market-oriented mechanism whether in technology, talent reservoir or capital source.

Diverse application scenarios

The development of a social economy is one reason for the increasing demands for commercial satellite services in various industries, which in turns promotes the expansion of application scenarios.

Fucheng-1, a commercial Earth observation satellite launched in June 2023, was named after the Fucheng District in Mianyang City, southwest China's Sichuan Province.

Comparing an image the satellite took of the district in last November with previous satellite data, the operation team found 21 points with building subsidence risk in the district's main urban area and reported the findings to the local housing department, which helped the relevant department complete an on-site review of the risk points.

In Shanghai, high-resolution satellite remote sensing images are utilized to conduct preliminary screening of the coastline of rivers and waterways, helping identify the possible areas of sewage outlets, based on which accurate investigation of the areas can be carried out afterwards.

The application scenarios of commercial satellite services have extended to many fields, including land survey, water conservancy, agriculture and environmental protection.

"In my point of view, the future will see an era of space economy development. The development of commercial aerospace will bring tremendous changes in economic benefits and social development," said Gu Xingfa, academician of International Academy of Astronautics.

"It will bring earth-shaking changes to our scientific and technological development, social development and daily life, and become the brightest and most dazzling star in the future economic development," said Gu.