On March 27, the Beijing Satellite Town Innovation and Development Conference was held at No. 1 Zhongguancun. As an important carrying area for commercial aerospace in Haidian, Beijing Satellite Town made its first systematic appearance, sending a clear signal that the “North Star” has begun to accelerate.
At the same time, judging from the application roundtable I chaired, commercial aerospace application companies have generally found vertical positioning, but the industry still has some way to go before it can truly explode on a large scale.
On March 27, during the 2026 Zhongguancun Forum Annual Meeting, the Beijing Satellite Town Innovation and Development Conference, one of the supporting activities, was held at Zhongguancun One.
In terms of form, this event is a typical industry conference: speeches from leaders, keynote reports, small town promotion, cooperation signing, platform unveiling, and special forums. But if you just treat it as an ordinary park promotion meeting, you will underestimate its value.
For Beijing Commercial Aerospace, what really deserves attention from this conference is that it released two important signals:
First, Haidian District’s “North Star” has truly entered an acceleration stage.
Second, commercial aerospace application companies have generally found their own vertical positioning, but there is still some way to go before they can truly explode on a large scale.
I chaired the second roundtable forum of the conference – “Industrial Innovation and Commercial Closed Loop of Commercial Aerospace”. My biggest feeling after the meeting was:
Today’s commercial aerospace applications are no longer a question of whether there is demand, but when continuous procurement, scale replication and stable delivery can be achieved.
In other words, the industry is moving from “validating value” to “running through the closed loop.”
01
Beijing Satellite Town makes its system debut for the first time, and Haidian “North Star” finally begins to move
The most direct highlight of this conference is that Beijing Satellite Town completed its first system promotion.
Judging from public information, Beijing Satellite Town has been included in the “15th Five-Year Plan” recommendations of Haidian District, and is positioned as the core carrying area for Beijing Haidian District to promote the high-quality development of the commercial aerospace industry. At the conference, the town’s “two districts and one platform” construction path was further clarified:
Pilot Zone: Zhongguancun One, focusing on commercial aerospace and artificial intelligence, has gathered more than 40 companies currently;
Core area: adjacent to China Space City, with a total construction area of approximately 540,000 square meters, and the first phase is expected to be delivered in the second half of 2026;
Public testing service platform: It is planned to be launched in Yongfeng Industrial Base and is expected to be completed in 2027 to make up for the shortcomings in testing services.
In addition, a number of signings and unveilings were completed at the conference, including joint laboratories, public technical service platforms, etc. These actions mean that Beijing satellite towns are moving from planning to implementation.
If viewed in the larger context of Beijing Commercial Aerospace, the significance of this matter will be clearer. In the past few years, a saying has often been mentioned in the industry – “Arrow in the South and Star in the North”.
“Southern Arrow” is Yizhuang’s continuous effort in the direction of the rocket. Whether it is the brand building of Rocket Street or the gathering of rockets, engines, final assembly and testing, Yizhuang has formed a strong external recognition.
“North Star” is Haidian’s natural advantages in satellite manufacturing, satellite applications, aerospace information, scientific research institutes, and university talents.
But objectively speaking, for a long time in the past, Haidian’s resource advantages in commercial aerospace have not been quickly transformed into industrial actions. This does not mean that Haidian is unimportant. On the contrary, Haidian may be one of the areas with the most abundant resources for commercial aerospace in the country.
There is China Space City, aerospace science and technology system resources, the aerospace information research strength of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tsinghua University, Peking University, Beihang University, Beijing Institute of Technology and other universities, as well as a large number of satellite industry chain enterprises and application innovation teams.
The problem is: Haidian has never lacked high-tech industry tracks, and commercial aerospace does not naturally have the highest priority in the region.
Precisely because of this, Haidian used to be more like a state of “having foundation, resources, and enterprises, but industrial organizations did not move fast enough.” In contrast, Yizhuang’s policy concentration, park branding and external communication on “Southern Arrow” are stronger, thus creating a greater voice.
Therefore, the first systematic appearance of Beijing Satellite Town shows at least one thing: Haidian’s “North Star” is no longer just a direction judgment, but has begun to enter a stage of substantial advancement.
02
Why are satellite towns in Beijing worth looking forward to?
Even though Haidian has not been the fastest in terms of advancement pace in the past, in the long run, I still think it is one of the areas most worthy of continuous observation for commercial aerospace in Beijing.
The reason is simple: the next thing that will really widen the gap is who can actually build the application and truly retain customers.
And at this point, it has a unique advantage.
The first is talent density.
Haidian has gathered a large number of aerospace model chief engineers, commanders in chief, experts from scientific research institutes, and university research teams, which is difficult to replicate in other regions.
Second, it is the enterprise foundation on the satellite and application side.
From satellites, payloads, measurement and operation control, to remote sensing, communications, navigation, aerospace information services, and application innovation for industry scenarios, Haidian’s corporate pedigree is naturally more suitable to undertake the industrial logic of “satellite + application”.
Third, it is the coupling ability of scientific research and industry.
For commercial aerospace to truly move toward scale, it requires not only manufacturing capabilities, but also testing capabilities, data capabilities, scenario capabilities, algorithm capabilities, and platform capabilities. Haidian is more likely to form this type of composite ecology.
Therefore, if Beijing Satellite Town can truly organize park space, public testing services, industrial collaboration, application scenarios and capital resources, its potential will be very great. The real test in the future still lies in policy rhythm, public service capabilities, scene introduction efficiency, and whether stronger industrial organizational capabilities can be formed.
03
Application companies have completed vertical card positions
The theme of the roundtable forum I hosted this time was “Industrial Innovation and Commercial Closed Loop in Commercial Aerospace.” From the on-site communication, my biggest feeling is that application companies have basically completed the first round of vertical blocking.
Several companies are very typical:
Elliptical space-time: no longer just selling remote sensing images, but emphasizing “real-time remote sensing information services”;
Yunyao Aerospace: Focusing on meteorological data, extending to agriculture, insurance, energy and other industry solutions;
Taiyu Pilot: Focusing on ultra-low orbit remote sensing, exploring higher frequency and closer to industry capabilities;
Kaiyun United: Explore platform services around space situational awareness, space target data and space traffic management;
Lanlingxingtong: Directly connects to satellites through low-cost Bluetooth, lowering the connection threshold and targeting the Internet of Things, emergency and overseas markets.
Now, everyone is answering a question more clearly: Which type of user am I solving for which high-value, sustainable procurement problem?
This in itself is industry progress.
04
Why has the application already had cases but hasn’t really exploded yet?
This is the most worthwhile question in this round table.
Today’s commercial aerospace applications are not without cases. On the contrary, many companies already have real projects, real customers, and real deliveries. But the problem is: cases ≠ scale, verification ≠ outbreak.
Why? I think there are at least four stuck points:
1. The constellation ability is not mature enough.
Many application directions have proven valuable, but to achieve scale, the premise is that the supply side capabilities are stable enough.
Coverage, revisiting, timeliness, continuity, and reliability will all affect whether customers can truly incorporate satellite services into their daily business processes.
2. Products are not fully standardized yet
Many application projects today still have strong customization attributes. Every time we work in an industry and every time we take on a customer, we have to re-adapt, re-interpret value, and re-organize delivery. This makes it easy to create a model but difficult to copy.
3. What customers are really willing to buy is “results”
An obvious consensus at this roundtable is that what customers are willing to continue to pay for is often not the data itself, but more direct business results. In other words, the industry is gradually moving from selling data and capabilities to selling early warnings, selling decisions, and selling continuous services.
4. The budget and delivery system has not yet become normalized
Many industry users have recognized the value of commercial aerospace, but the budget logic still remains at the stage of pilot projects, special funds, and single procurement.
Therefore, the current most accurate description of commercial aerospace applications is: not “no one buys it”, but “someone buys it, but not enough to support large-scale replication.”
05
AI will accelerate this process, but 2026 is just the beginning
One of the main themes of this conference is “Commercial Aerospace + AI”. My judgment is: AI will indeed significantly promote the scale of commercial aerospace applications, but 2026 is still just the beginning.
Because the real value of AI is not to replace satellite capabilities, but to shorten this link: data → information → insight → decision-making → delivery.
In the past, the problem for many companies was that they had data, but it was still too far away from customers’ business actions. AI can help companies transform raw data into understandable, triggerable, and executable business results faster.
But what needs to be noted is that AI can only accelerate and will not replace the maturity of the basic supply side. If constellation capabilities, terminal capabilities, standardized delivery, and industry procurement mechanisms have not been established, AI will not be able to complete the outbreak alone.
So I would say: AI + aerospace is the direction, but in 2026, it will be more like a starting point than a result.
Conclusion
This conference in Beijing Satellite Town is a good start.
But if we zoom out a little further, the significance of this meeting is even more important. Perhaps it reminds us that the next stage of commercial aerospace is no longer just a competition for technological breakthroughs, but a competition for industrial closed loops.
And this is precisely what is most worthy of continued observation in today’s industry.
