At present, my country’s commercial aerospace industry is developing in full swing. In 2020, the country included satellite Internet into the category of “new infrastructure” for the first time; in 2021, the country established the Star Network Group to coordinate the development of my country’s satellite Internet industry; in 2024, commercial aerospace was included in the government work report for the first time.
However, despite the peace, there are also certain problems:
1. More stars but fewer arrows: Launch vehicles are the basis of aerospace activities. Although my country’s private rocket companies have developed to a certain extent, currently only solid rockets, mainly powered by Galaxy, can undertake launch mission orders. But in terms of economic benefits, the cost is too high for both supply and demand sides. For the demand side, the cost reaches about 100,000/kg; for the supply side, even if it is 100,000/kg, it is selling at a loss, and it is difficult to achieve long-term development of the enterprise. As for liquid rockets, the only private rocket companies currently making their first flights are Tianbing Technology and Blue Arrow Aerospace, but neither has the ability to undertake large-scale constellation network launch orders.
2. There are obvious shortcomings in the supply chain: key components required for commercial rockets, such as engines, structures and special instruments and equipment, are mostly supplied by state-owned enterprises, mainly aerospace technology groups. This brings two problems to the supply chain of private aerospace enterprises: (1) Procurement is difficult, because the production capacity of state-owned enterprises is not high. Even if they offer high prices, they may not be willing to sell to you. Purchasing within tight production capacity is difficult and relies heavily on human relations; (2) The cost is very high. This is a seller’s market, and the purchase price is quite high. As for the actual prices of related components, except for the companies that produce these components, it is difficult for others to figure out the actual prices of these products. Moreover, many products are exclusively supplied, and buyers have almost no say.
3. Application capabilities are questionable: At present, both inter-satellite laser link technology and inter-satellite microwave link technology are in the preliminary exploration stage and are not yet mature. Only by building this ultra-large-scale satellite communication link can satellite Internet deployment be successful. Although we often see many companies claiming how many satellites they have launched, it is actually questionable what application capabilities these satellites can produce. How many of them actually generate value and how many are just for gimmicks is questionable. If they are only for gimmicks and have no application capabilities, they can only be space junk without value. The market needs to strengthen its ability to identify this part of the phenomenon.
Although there are various problems, with the strong support of the country, I believe that our country’s commercial aerospace industry will achieve gratifying achievements. The cultivation and development of an industry requires the joint assistance of various forces in society to achieve success. At present, the country has introduced many policies to help the development of the commercial aerospace industry. There are also many experts and scholars who have devoted themselves to the wave of commercial aerospace development, and various funds have also entered. We are happy with the current achievements of the commercial aerospace industry. We also hope that more technology, capital, and talents will flow into this industry to contribute to the development of our country’s commercial aerospace industry.
