Asia's largest satellite manufacturing hub in China nears operation

A satellite "super factory" capable of producing 1,000 satellites annually is set to begin operation at the Wenchang International Aerospace City (WIAC) in south China's Hainan Province, enabling a seamless process in which satellites can be launched immediately after rolling off the production line.

More than 20 upstream and downstream enterprises across the industry chain have already signed agreements to settle in the area, further improving the full-chain ecosystem covering rocket development, satellite manufacturing, launch and tracking.

The super factory comprises an international advanced satellite manufacturing center and the international satellite-rocket integrated research and development center. It includes one super factory, one testing and inspection center and eight core unit development centers. It is China's only production base capable of both satellite assembly and satellite-rocket encapsulation, and is the largest satellite manufacturing facility in Asia.

Once operational, the facility will see its first satellite roll off the production line, gradually forming an efficient model in which "components come in, and integrated satellite-rocket systems go out," according to WIAC.

The facility will also support the implementation of the "Thousand Sails Constellation" plan and advance the large-scale deployment of low-orbit satellite constellations.

Leveraging the advantages of the Hainan Free Trade Port, an international satellite data trading platform will set up a bonded data zone to attract satellite data resources from around the world.