BEIJING: China has launched the “Beijing Rocket Street” project in the capital’s E-town to create a national-level scientific research and manufacturing center to promote the development of China’s commercial space.
By 2023, the country’s private commercial rocket enterprises, all based in Beijing, had made a total of 13 space launches. Beijing E-town hosts a cluster of more than 70 airlines, including 75 percent of China’s private rocket manufacturers.
Beijing E-town, an economic and technological development area in the southeast of the capital, has a total floor area of 140,000 square meters. Major facilities include a common technology platform, a state-of-the-art manufacturing center and an innovative research and development center. There are also plans to build an interactive science and technology exhibition hall that will offer visitors immersive virtual reality experiences.
The local government anticipates that the project will help rocket enterprises explore new technologies and expand their application scenario. Meanwhile, it spearheaded the Commercial Space Alliance, which brings together businesses, universities, institutions and cooperatives.
As the Chinese government’s work report earlier this year highlighted the inclusion of the commercial space industry as a major driver of new growth, many provincial-level regions such as Shanghai, Hunan and Sichuan have also released development plans to support of this industry.
Data shows that China’s commercial space market has experienced rapid growth since 2015, with an average annual increase of more than 20 percent from 2017 to the first half of this year. The country’s commercial space market is expected to be worth 2.34 trillion yuan (about $322.7 billion) in 2024.
