GalaxySpace completes first commercial satellite delivery from China to Southeast Asia

The satellite superfactory in Wenchang, China, passed expert inspection in June and is preparing for the start of pilot production with a planned annual capacity of 1000 satellites. For comparison, China has launched just over a thousand satellites in its entire history, and only around 350 spacecraft were placed into orbit in 2025—which accounts for approximately four months of the planned output of this single facility.

The urgency of this process is driven by orbital needs. China plans to establish two constellations—Qianfan and the national Guowang network—which together are expected to total about 28,000 satellites by 2035. At the 2025 pace, meaning 350 satellites per year, achieving this goal would take 80 years, but the window of available orbital slots will not wait.

Traditional satellite manufacturing operates on an 'island' principle, where engineers from different specialties work around a fixed workstation. This method takes between 1.5 and 5 years and costs tens of millions of dollars per unit, which prevents scaling up to thousands of units. GeeSpace, a subsidiary of Geely, opened the first satellite superfactory in Taizhou, reducing delivery time to 28 days and lowering costs by 45%. GalaxySpace aims to reduce the cost of low-Earth orbit satellites from hundreds of millions to millions of yuan, while MinoSpace provides a capacity of over 150 satellites per year.

The Wenchang factory goes further. It is jointly funded by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation and the local government. It is built near a spaceport, allowing satellites to move directly from the production line to the rocket, eliminating the need for transportation and retesting over thousands of kilometers. The '1+1+8' system integrates the factory, testing center, and eight component manufacturers on one site.

Significant efficiency improvements have been achieved: the assembly of an entire satellite has been reduced from a week to one day, with the fastest process taking half a day. Nevertheless, Wenchang ultimately aims for speed not only compared to China's past domestic production but also under the time constraints set by players like SpaceX and the gradually closing orbital window.

The application of the Beidou system has reached a key stage of industrialization, international expansion, and market integration. According to the Beidou China Space-Time Industry White Paper for 2026, the output volume will reach 1.33 trillion yuan, with navigation alone reaching 629 billion yuan, representing a growth of 9.24%, and products are exported to over 140 countries. In Zhuzhou city, Hunan Province, a complete ecosystem for Beidou application has formed, covering the entire region—from satellite launch to data reception and scenario implementation.

Hunan Sailerdete satellite factory, located in the Beidou Zhuzhou Industrial Park, is an AI-enabled intelligent object for satellites. It is capable of producing 150 small satellites annually in the weight class of 50 to 500 kilograms, performing assembly, vibration, magnetic, and vacuum-thermal testing. Among these spacecraft is XR-11, the first high-resolution remote sensing satellite at a height of 0.5 meters, which was launched in May 2025 on the Lijian-1 Y-7 launch vehicle. This satellite weighs only 135 kilograms, making it one of the lightest in the world, and it is used for monitoring crops and natural resources.

Cost savings are critically important to achieving scale. Four major challenges in the commercial aerospace industry—high cost, long delivery times, operational complexity, and low production volume—are being addressed within the action plan for 2025–2027 by implementing standardized mass production to reduce development and launch costs. According to An Hao, co-founder and deputy general manager of Sailerdete, the AI smart factory is highly automated due to the modular design of the satellite platform and flexible reorganization of the production line. As a result, the production and launch costs of XR-11 were reduced by more than half, allowing for repeat orders and closing the cycle of a mature commercial cycle. This factory is the first pulsating microsatellite intelligent production line in Hunan approved by the National Development and Reform Commission.

While Sailerdete handles satellite manufacturing, Zhuzhou Taikong Xingji Satellite Technology is responsible for their application. Founded in 2022, it manages the Zhuzhou constellation, which is the country's first commercial hybrid remote sensing radar constellation. By August 2026, there will be 8 SAR satellites in orbit. When optical satellites cannot operate at night or in poor weather conditions (cloud cover, rain, fog), SAR images reliably penetrate clouds, ensuring millimeter-level deformation monitoring. Chairman Fu Sinke stated that the company has developed a complete measurement, operation, and management system, as well as a satellite data processing center that covers data reception, standard product manufacturing, and applications ranging from terrain mapping to emergency response.

The industrial chain is forming around Sailerdete as the leader. Downstream are suppliers such as Reshu Technology, Hongxing Technology, and Xingqi Aerospace, while upstream rocket manufacturers include Yushi Space and Zhiyu Aerospace, which specializes in reusable liquid rockets. More than a quarter of the top 50 companies in the commercial aerospace industry have established themselves in Zhuzhou, and nearly 200 enterprises are located in the Beidou Industrial Park. The Beidou Zhuzhou cluster reached a volume of 22.96 billion yuan in 2025, showing a growth of 33.82%, and comprises 187 companies, ranking first in the country based on pilot evaluations of Beidou applications. The fifth International Summit on Beidou Applications, themed 'Together with the World, Together with Beidou, Expanding the Planet's Potential,' will take place in September.