China's commercial satellite sector prepares for takeoff
Key industry leaders say focus has shifted toward mass production, specialized application ecosystems and urgent development of heavy-lift launch capabilities
A record-breaking filing for orbital resources has signaled a pivotal shift in China's space ambitions, moving the industry from a phase of technical verification to aggressive commercial scaling.
In late December, China submitted applications to the International Telecommunication Union for frequency and orbital resources for an additional 203,000 satellites. The move would drastically expand the global population of spacecraft and reshape the competitive landscape of low-Earth orbit.
While the sheer magnitude of the applications garnered international headlines, the practical execution of this strategy relies heavily on a rapidly maturing domestic supply chain that is fundamentally different from its Western counterparts.
Key industry leaders say the focus has shifted toward mass production, specialized application ecosystems and the urgent development of heavy-lift launch capabilities to meet international deployment deadlines.
The acceleration comes as Chinese enterprises seek to secure finite resources in space, a domain that experts warn is becoming increasingly crowded with commercial hardware.
Lin Guangrong, a constellation communication system architect at GalaxySpace, said the company has successfully transitioned from a "custom workshop" model to a "digital factory" approach to meet this demand.
GalaxySpace, recognized as China's first unicorn company in the commercial aerospace and satellite internet sector, has spent seven years building a full-chain capability for satellite development.
Lin noted that unlike the standardized production of automobiles or computers, satellite mass production faces unique hurdles regarding reliability in the vacuum of space. It requires a delicate balance between speed and rigorous quality control.
