NETDA-built satellite marks first Southeast Asian export

A Thai Earth-observation satellite built at GALAXYSPACE's smart factory in the Nantong Economic and Technological Development Area was launched on Aug 25.

This marks the first time a Chinese commercial space company has completed the development, launch and in-orbit delivery of a satellite for a Southeast Asian country, and represents GALAXYSPACE's first export of a complete satellite and ground system to a Belt and Road partner.

The satellite, named Lingzhi-09 Thailand CubeSat, was developed for Thailand's Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency (GISTDA). It is designed to collect remote sensing data to support land management, agriculture and environmental monitoring efforts.

To date, GALAXYSPACE has launched 49 self-developed satellites, half of them built at its factory in NETDA. The facility is the only satellite manufacturing base in Jiangsu province qualified for full-cycle development and production.

GALAXYSPACE's smart factory in NETDA. [Photo/Nantong Daily]

Cheng Ming, factory head, said the Nantong facility has cut the development cycle by 80 percent by drawing on the Yangtze River Delta region's manufacturing ecosystem and digital production scheduling. NETDA serves as GALAXYSPACE's main assembly hub, and its mass-production capacity was key to fulfilling this export order.