Nantong city eyes aerospace industry opportunities

A Long March-2C carrier rocket blasts off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Southwest China's Sichuan province on March 5. [Photo provided to NETDA]

A Long March-2C carrier rocket carrying six satellites produced by GalaxySpace and a commercial remote sensing satellite blasted off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Southwest China's Sichuan province on March 5.

The "Nantong No 1" – one of the six satellites, with a weight of about 190 kilograms – has a communications capacity of more than 40 Gbps, or gigabytes per second.

Together with other satellites in orbit, the satellite will form China's first low-orbit broadband communications test constellation and will establish a satellite-earth integration 5G test network. This will be capable of providing uninterrupted and low-delay broadband communications services for about 30 minutes at a time.

At the same time, the satellite is carrying a remote sensing payload and will carry out in-orbit satellite communications and remote sensing integration technology tests and demonstrations.

GalaxySpace is the first unicorn company in China's commercial aerospace and satellite internet field. A unicorn is a privately held start-up company, valued at over $1 billion.

Its new-generation satellite research and development and intelligent manufacturing base settled in the Nantong Economic and Technological Development Area – located in Nantong city in East China's Jiangsu province – in September 2020.

When fully completed, it will have an annual capacity of 300-500 satellites.

GalaxySpace is also planning to place its satellite communications terminal station in Nantong, which is expected to attract upstream and downstream industry supply chains in the city.