At 0:38 on March 12, 2025, the Long March 8 Yao-6 carrier rocket carrying the fifth batch of network satellites of the Qianfan constellation was successfully launched from the No. 1 launch station of the Hainan Commercial Space Launch Site. The successful launch of Hainan Shangfa Station No. 1 marks that my country’s first commercial space launch site has dual-station full-system launch capabilities. It is absolutely an extremely important event for the development of my country’s aerospace industry.
This launch has attracted great attention from astronauts and market investors who are concerned about commercial aerospace. Various media reports are overwhelming, which is also an invisible recognition of the market’s Hainan Commercial Development staff. After the first flight, I have a few thoughts that I would like to briefly discuss.
First of all, regarding this launch, in addition to the fact that “Hainan Commercial Development Station No. 1 successfully completed its first flight”, there are several other points at Station No. 1 that are worthy of everyone’s attention.
1. Hainan Shangfa Station No. 1 is a dedicated launch station for the Long March 8 carrier rocket. The Long March 8 launch vehicle is a new generation medium-sized launch vehicle developed by the First Academy of Aerospace Science and Technology. The Long March 8 has a diameter of 3.35 meters and is divided into two configurations: CZ-822 (HO) and CZ-820 (HO). The core stage of the Long March 8 is basically the same as the core stage of the Long March 7, and is equipped with two YF-100 liquid oxygen kerosene engines with a thrust of 120 tons. The second-stage core of the Long March 8 is basically the same as the third-stage core of the Long March 3A series, equipped with two YF-75 hydrogen-oxygen engines with a thrust of 8.5 tons. Previous launches of the Long March 8 carrier rocket were carried out at Station 201 of the Wenchang Space Launch Site. This time the launch was successfully completed at Station 1 of Hainan Shangfa, marking that the Long March 8 carrier rocket now has two stations that can be used for launch.
2. Compared with the traditional launch station, Hainan Shangfa No. 1 station has eliminated the diversion trough and adopted ground diversion cones for drainage and extrusion water spray for cooling and noise reduction.
3. Hainan Shangfa No. 1 station adopted a modular steel structure launch tower solution during the construction process, which shortened the entire construction period by half. Long March Space Launch Technology and Special Vehicle Equipment Co., Ltd. provided a “turnkey project” for Hainan Commercial Development, and the design, procurement, and construction were all completed by the special vehicle company.
4. Hainan Shangfa Station No. 1 has overcome the problem of “7 days for launch and 7 days for recovery”. This is very important. To increase the frequency of launches, we must either follow the previous path or build more launch stations.
Secondly, I have a few ideas to briefly discuss.
1. After this launch, both Hainan Commercial Development Stations have the ability to successfully support launch missions. Previously, everyone’s expectation for Hainan Commercial Development was that the first flight would be successful. Now that both stations have successfully made their first flight, everyone’s expectations for Hainan Commercial Development will become “how to achieve high-density and regular launches.” The first flight is a big test, and “how to achieve high-density and regular launches” is another form of big test. The original intention of building Hainan Commercial Development was to use market-oriented experience to speed up the construction of my country’s giant satellite Internet constellation. The successful first flight is only the first step in a long journey of thousands of miles. From now to the end of this year, how many launch missions Hainan Commercial Development can successfully guarantee is extremely important to the development of my country’s commercial aerospace industry. To a certain extent, it is no less important than the success of this first flight.
2. The subsequent commercial development in Hainan may involve many “balance issues”. The first is the balance of personnel. We can know from public information that on January 25, 2025, the Hainan Commercial Development Phase II project started, and the construction of the third and fourth liquid development stations began. On February 28, 2025, the bidding for Hainan Shangfa’s offshore recovery system ended. In addition, Hainan Shangfa is also working on the measurement and control system. This series of big moves has put a lot of pressure on Hainan Shangfa’s human resources. Especially since we have to continue to ensure high-frequency launch missions in the future, whether the current manpower of Hainan Commercial Development Co., Ltd. can handle it. The second is the balance of work focus. As mentioned just now, after the first flight, regular launch will become a very important work direction. At the same time, the construction of the third and fourth liquid engine stations is also a very important work content. How to balance these two work focuses is also very important for the follow-up work of Hainan Commercial Development. Then there is the balance between the national team and private rocket companies. Currently, Hainan Shangfa’s No. 1 station is exclusively for the Long March 8 rocket. Needless to say, it will definitely not be used by private rocket companies. The No. 2 station is a general-purpose station. Currently, only the Long March 12 rocket has completed its first flight. Let’s take a look at the current various According to the plans announced by private rocket companies, everyone plans to fly this year. If they fly this year, where to fly has become a key issue. Hainan Commercial Development is undoubtedly the most certain choice. In the future, we can see whether rockets from private rocket companies can be launched at Hainan Commercial Development Station this year. The last thing is the balance between business logic and national strategy. For our country, occupying frequency and maintaining rail is undoubtedly the core national strategy. This must be done, otherwise Musk will occupy all the frequency and rail resources. However, Hainan Commercial Development is a commercial company. Although it is a state-owned enterprise, it must also consider the closed loop of the business model. Otherwise, how to support the construction of subsequent work stations and the maintenance and construction of the team will cause a cost problem. How to set prices, whether to set prices according to market-oriented business models, or to take into account the needs of national strategies, will also be a big problem that may be faced later.
Next, let’s talk about the encouraging aspects of this launch. This launch is definitely a major event that can go down in history for the entire commercial aerospace industry, which can be seen from the media’s reaction. After this launch, our country has one more station that can be used for launches. With more stations, more rockets can be launched in the next year, which can bring greater vitality to the entire market. Through this launch, Hainan Commercial Development’s team has once again been greatly exercised, and the team experience has been strengthened again. This is very important. According to my country’s current plan for the mega-constellation, the existing launch stations cannot meet the demand, and expansion of stations is inevitable. At this time, experienced staff and their experience have become very valuable assets. During the construction process of Hainan Commercial Development, we encountered this problem and there was an extreme shortage of talents, because before Hainan Commercial Development, there was no commercial space launch site in our country. In the future, whether Hainan Shangfa expands its own work stations or other places in the country are approved to build new work stations, Hainan Shangfa’s current team and experience will bring great help.
Finally, there is another point that deserves attention: whether there will be corresponding changes in the main leadership of Hainan Commercial Development in the future. Yang Tianliang, the current chairman of Hainan Commercial Development, was born in January 1965. According to the retirement age of department-level cadres, how long can Chairman Yang continue to be at the helm of Hainan Commercial Development. For a state-owned enterprise that is pioneering in the commercial aerospace field, leadership changes will have a great impact on the company’s future development. There are few mature cases to refer to on the growth path of Hainan Commercial Development. In the process of piloting, the importance of the main leaders in certain core decisions is crucial to the future development of the company, and is also extremely important to the future development of the entire industry.
Overall, this launch has really brought a lot of confidence to the entire industry. I congratulate Hainan Commercial Development on its success and wish our country’s aerospace industry to move forward courageously and write a more gorgeous new chapter in the universe on its journey to the stars and the sea.
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