A Chinese commercial space company has rolled out the country's first high-performance deployable 'space umbrella' antenna for satellites.

The antenna, developed by GalaxySpace, is designed to fold into a compact shape during launch and then deploy in orbit to form a large communication reflector.

The antenna is intended for satellite platforms that require high storage efficiency and can be used in low-Earth-orbit communications, remote sensing and navigation systems.

The company said the antenna could work together with large flat-panel satellite antennas in the future to support direct satellite-to-smartphone communications – one of the key technologies being pursued in next-generation satellite internet systems.