From 36 to 309, China’s commercial satellites only took five years.
In 2025, China will launch 309 commercial satellites, a year-on-year increase of 54%, and a five-year compound growth rate of 70.8%.
This number means that China’s commercial satellite manufacturing has truly entered the large-scale delivery stage for the first time.
For the past decade, we’ve been talking about “Who can make a satellite?”;
In the next three years, what we must discuss is “Who can deliver satellites in batches, at low cost, stably and reliably?”
At this watershed moment, we launch the “China’s Top 10 Commercial Satellite Manufacturing Companies in 2026” ranking list.
This is a phased analysis of China’s leading satellite manufacturing capabilities.
01
309, what does it mean?
309 means at least three things.
1. The demand for constellations really starts
As of 2025, China has more than 100 satellite constellations planned, with a total size of more than 60,000. Typical representatives include:
Broadband Internet: GW State Grid (12,992), Qianfan Constellation (about 15,000)
Narrowband Internet of Things: Space-time Daoyu Constellation (5676), Apocalypse Constellation (38)
Remote sensing constellation: Jilin-1 (138)
Computing Constellation: Star Calculation Plan (2800)
Navigation enhancement: Microspace (240 chips), Dawan Zhitong (105 chips)
Meteorological constellations: Yunyao Constellation (90 constellations), Tianmu No. 1 (22 constellations)
The requirements no longer stay at the planning level, but enter the actual launch stage.
2. Satellite manufacturing has moved from “customization” to “assembly line-like” stage
In the past, the mainstream model of China’s satellite manufacturing was: single-satellite customization + project-based delivery; today’s main theme is: networking + batch + standardization.
2025:
GW State Grid completed 16 network launches + 2 test launches, launching a total of 134 satellites (126 network satellites + 8 test satellites).
Qianfan completed 3 network launches with 54 satellites.
It can be seen that the logic of satellite manufacturing has completely changed: it is no longer the delivery of single-satellite projects, but the execution of batch tasks.
3. Fundamental changes in industry evaluation standards
In the past, satellite companies were judged based on the amount of financing, technological progress, and team background.
But in the era of scale, these can only represent “potential.” What really determines the position of the industry is delivery capability.
Therefore, the core evaluation of this list revolves around three major manufacturing capabilities:
cost
Whole star delivery cost
Key unit cost controllability
Capacity
Annual on-orbit deliveries
Production line design and expansion capabilities
reliability
On-orbit performance
Comprehensive evaluation by experts
These three capabilities are the “impossible triangle” of the manufacturing industry and the real watershed in the next three years.
02
The true pattern of China’s satellite manufacturing
There are more than 60 satellite manufacturing companies in China, but not many have truly entered the scale of delivery. If you only look at the head strength, the pattern in 2025 is already very clear, focusing on three main lines.
The first main line: Star Network System
Centering on the construction of the GW State Grid constellation of China Star Network, the first echelon of Chinese satellite manufacturing companies has been formed.
Commercial enterprises participating in GW constellation networking and supply chain in 2025 include:
Gesi Information (undertaken Shanghai micro-satellite AIT work, 42 network satellites)
Galaxy Aerospace (9 network stars + 3 test stars)
Micro-nano starry sky (1 test star)
Changguang Satellite (2 test satellites)
China Business Star (2 test stars)
Science and Technology Space (a subsidiary company of the Space Engineering General Department of the Second Academy of Aerospace Science and Industry)
Industrial satellite
Hongqing Technology
What needs to be explained is:
The Communication Department of the Fifth Academy of Aerospace Science and Technology will undertake the production of 75 of the 134 satellites in 2025, but as a national institute, it did not participate in this selection.
China Satellite, a listed company under the Fifth Academy, has its satellite manufacturing business undertaken by Aerospace Dongfanghong and Shenzhen Dongfanghong. It mainly produces remote sensing satellites and has not undertaken the satellite manufacturing business of the GW State Grid Constellation.
After the Aerospace Science and Technology Group established China Commercial Star, it is gradually integrating the commercial satellite manufacturing resources of the Fifth Academy and the Eighth Academy. In the future, the manufacturing focus of large commercial customers such as China Star Network is likely to be concentrated on China Star.
The characteristics of the star network system are very clear: strong engineering capabilities, strong reliability, and guaranteed progress. Being able to enter this system itself means that satellite manufacturing capabilities have reached national standards.
The second main line: Qianfan and the market-oriented constellation system
The Qianfan constellation will launch 54 satellites in 2025. Major participating companies include:
Gerth information (36 pieces)
Gerth Aerospace (18 pieces)
It should be pointed out that some of Gerth Aerospace’s satellites are undergoing rectification due to on-orbit performance issues. At present, the AIT of the Qianfan network satellite is mainly undertaken by Gerth Information. This is also the reason why most Qianfan system suppliers failed to make the list of the top 10 commercial aerospace companies in Nihao Space this year.
In addition, the launch status of other major commercial constellations in 2025:
Yunyao Constellation: Changguang Satellite (16), Tianyi Research Institute (1), Micro-Nano Starry Sky (1)
Microspace: ICAO satellites (8 satellites), China satellites (2 satellites)
AIRSAT constellation: Industrial University satellite (2 satellites), Gerth Information (1 satellite)
Around the Sky Constellation: Micro-Nano Star won the bid to manufacture 10 Around the Sky Constellation satellites in 2025.
The core logic of this main line is: cost control + delivery rhythm. Compared with the Star Network system, it is more market-oriented and cruel.
The third main line: own ecosystem
The third main line is “build your own constellation and satellite.”
Representative companies and number of launches in 2025:
Daoyu of time and space (36 constellations of Daoyu of time and space)
NationStar Aerospace (Star Computing Plan 12)
Tianyi Research Institute (6 pieces)
Science and engineering space (2 pieces)
Micro-nano starry sky (2 pieces)
The core advantages of this type of enterprise are: integration of production capacity, users, and applications. They are both manufacturers and users, with higher risks but greater control.
03
Where do these 13 companies stand?
There are 13 companies shortlisted this time, and we divide them into three categories according to their capability structure.
1. AIT type
Representative companies: Gerth Information, Gerth Aerospace, and China Business Star.
The characteristics of this type of enterprise are mature and stable assembly and testing capabilities, strong supply chain control, and controllable engineering rhythm. In the era of scale, AIT capabilities are manufacturing bases.
2. Overall platform type
Representative companies: Galaxy Aerospace, Micro-Nano Starry Sky, Gongda Satellite, Hongqing Technology, China Satellite (Aerospace Dongfanghong + Shenzhen Dongfanghong), Tianyi Research Institute.
The characteristics of this type of enterprise are platform design capabilities, multi-task adaptation and comprehensive communication, guidance and remote capabilities, which determine the degree of productization of the industry.
3. Own ecological type
Representative companies: Changguang Satellite, National Star Aerospace, Spacetime Daoyu, Science and Technology Space.
The characteristics of this type of enterprise are its own constellation-driven manufacturing, ecological closed loop, higher risks and higher imagination space.
04
The real watershed in the next three years
The industry is hotly discussing AI satellites, large-scale, low-orbit, and integration. These are trends, but they are not life and death lines.
The real watershed is three extremely simple things:
1. Can costs continue to decline?
Can the entire star cost enter a sustainable range?
Will a standardized platform be formed?
Is the key single machine autonomously controllable?
2. Does the production capacity have batch capacity?
Do you have a real production line?
Do you have 100-star delivery capabilities?
Can it expand stably?
3. Can on-orbit reliability withstand scale verification?
Is the on-orbit performance stable?
Can it stand the test of scale?
Can we get the next round of larger-scale constellation networking orders?
In the next three years, the industry will be significantly differentiated: some companies will rapidly increase their volume; some companies will be marginalized; and the top structure will become more solidified.
Conclusion
There are more than 60 satellite manufacturing companies in China, but only a few have truly entered the core area of large-scale manufacturing.
This “China’s Top 10 Commercial Satellite Manufacturing Companies in 2026” records the current map of China’s leading satellite manufacturing capabilities before the era of scale begins.
