Hainan’s commercial spaceflight industry took a giant leap on March 12 when a Long March-8 Y6 carrier rocket launched 18 low Earth orbit satellites from a pioneering launch site in Hainan Province.
This inaugural mission from the site’s No. 1 pad, following the debut from the No. 2 pad in November 2024, signifies the dual-pad readiness of the Chinese mainland's first commercial spaceport and paves the way for future missions.
Leveraging free trade port policies and unique launch resources, Hainan has rapidly built a thriving "space+" economy. Construction at Wenchang International Aerospace City began in July 2022 and reached operational status in just 32 months, bridging a critical gap in commercial launch capabilities.
Lu Liangliang from the Department of System Engineering of the China National Space Administration explained that this milestone marks the successful completion of the site's first-phase capacity building. A second phase—set to include a command and control center alongside two additional liquid rocket launch pads—is underway nearby and expected to be completed by the end of 2026, boosting annual launch capacity to over 60 missions.
Hainan is fast emerging as an aerospace hub. By October 2024, over 700 space-related enterprises and institutions had settled in Wenchang International Aerospace City, with strategic partnerships involving key commercial space companies such as iSpace and Galactic Energy. In March, the region also launched its first Aerospace Application Technology Industry Academy to nurture interdisciplinary talent in space, internationalization, and artificial intelligence.
As robust industry clusters around rockets, satellites, and data continue to develop, Hainan is poised to lead a new era of global space innovation.
Reference(s):
Innovative Hainan: Commercial spaceflight industry set to 'take off'
cgtn.com
