The 2025 Commercial Space Conference and Exhibition was held last week in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, on the theme “Exploring the Future, Building the Space Dream Together.” The conference highlights four core areas: in-orbit services and operations; satellite manufacturing and application services; commercial rocket transportation; and advanced space technologies. Over 350 attendees, including top executives and specialists from leading domestic and international commercial space companies, aerospace research institutions and universities, satellite R&D and manufacturing, satellite service applications, commercial rocket development, launch infrastructure, and pioneering tech firms, convened in Shenzhen to explore emerging opportunities in the commercial space sector.
China's 2025 Government Work Report has underlined the need to promote the safe and sound development of commercial space, the low-altitude economy, and other emerging industries. This was the second mention of commercial space in the Government Work Report since a first in the 2024 edition. With the firm support from government policies, the sector is expected to continue its strong growth momentum and yield more technology breakthroughs this year, said industry insiders approached by the Global Times. China's commercial space industry will enter a phase of transformation and upgrading in 2025, with the market size expected to exceed CNY2.5 trillion, and international cooperation set to continue expanding.
Duan Xiao, Chief Designer of the leading Chinese private space start-up GalaxySpace, told the Global Times that currently, space infrastructure development is emerging as a new engine for global economic growth. According to a report by the European Space Policy Institute (ESPI), the global space economy is projected to reach a value of USD1 trillion by 2040. Duan disclosed that GalaxySpace has built an advanced smart satellite factory. The facility's production line leverages cutting-edge intelligent equipment, including smart assembly robots, automated guided vehicles (AGVs) and automated measurement systems, paired with sophisticated software platforms such as digital manufacturing systems and automated integrated testing systems. This setup supports the full production of satellites weighing up to 2,000 kilograms, with the line capable of producing 100 satellites annually, according to Duan. At present, the company is working on the development of next-generation communication satellites capable of direct smartphone connectivity, accelerating the use of 6G technologies.
Space Pioneer, a Chinese private rocket company specializing in medium-to-large liquid launch vehicles and liquid oxygen-kerosene rocket engines, and notable as the world's first private entity to successfully launch a liquid rocket on its maiden flight, announced to the Global Times that its newly developed Tianlong-3, a large-scale liquid launch vehicle aimed at rivaling SpaceX's Falcon 9, is targeting its inaugural flight in 2025. The Tianlong-3 is projected to progressively reach a commercial launch capacity of over 30 flights annually starting in 2025. Landspace, another private rocket maker based in Beijing, revealed to the Global Times the company's ZQ-3 reusable rocket, which has successively completed vertical takeoff and landing flight tests at the 100-meter and 10-kilometer levels, is set to make its inaugural flight this year, the Global Times reports.
