In the past ten years, China’s commercial aerospace industry has developed rapidly. But one of the most basic and critical questions has never been answered clearly by the system:
What exactly is “Chinese commercial aerospace”?
China’s commercial aerospace industry is facing an increasingly obvious problem: the industry is developing at a rapid pace, but the “consensus basis” of the industry is seriously insufficient.
The boundaries of commercial spaceflight are poorly defined;
There is a lack of unified standards for determining whether an enterprise is considered a commercial aerospace company;
The division between upstream, middle and downstream is confusing;
Data on the number of companies in each segment, technology routes, and product maturity are scattered and contradictory;
Industry scale forecasts are inconsistent and difficult to compare horizontally;
It is difficult to benchmark with international data systems.
turn out:
Commercial aerospace has become a concept that is frequently cited but difficult to accurately define.
Industry participants, in fact, are not on the same “map” discussing the same industry.
01
Why produce the “2026 China Commercial Aerospace Industry Annual Report”?
We know:
When an industry cannot be clearly defined, it cannot be subject to long-term investment, systematic planning and rational judgment.
Therefore, Nihao Space × Luduan Think Tank decided to complete an annual report with real industry infrastructure significance in the first half of 2026:
Not an opinion report, but an industry “pedestal-level report.”
This report has only two goals, but they are both important:
Goal 1: Solve the “accurate, complete and new” basic data problem of China’s commercial aerospace industry
We hope to systematically complete the following tasks:
Clarify China’s commercial aerospace industry definition and enterprise identification standards;
Establish a unified division framework for upstream, midstream, downstream and core subdivisions;
Sort out the main enterprises, product forms and technical routes in each segment;
Develop a relatively credible method for measuring industry size;
Provide development trends and structural judgments in the next 5-10 years.
Let the upstream and downstream industries, government departments, industrial parks, investment institutions, enterprises and capital preparing to enter the aerospace field:
For the first time, discussions and decisions can be made based on the same set of open, transparent, and verifiable industry facts.
Goal 2: Let China’s commercial aerospace industry “be compared internationally”
Commercial aerospace must be an international industry.
If China’s commercial aerospace industry cannot compare with international standards in terms of data caliber, industrial structure, and segmentation, then:
Investment institutions cannot make global comparisons;
Businesses are unable to position themselves internationally;
Policy effects are difficult to assess;
International cooperation is difficult to carry out.
Therefore, this report will focus on benchmarking and reference:
Satellite Industry Association (SIA)
《State of the Satellite Industry Report》
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)
《Handbook on Measuring the Space Economy》
As well as the statistics and classification methods of the mainstream aerospace industry in Europe and the United States
Our goal is not to “copy international”, but to:
Construct a set of Chinese commercial aerospace statistics and research framework that is consistent with China’s national conditions and aligned with international mainstream standards.
02
Why is this matter initiated by Nihao Space?
This annual report was initiated not because we are “qualified to define the industry”, but because Nihao Space has long been at the intersection of multiple key entities in China’s commercial aerospace industry.
In the past few years, Nihao Space has continued to track the complete development process of China’s commercial aerospace, covering multiple directions such as rockets, satellites, constellations, core components and cutting-edge space technologies. We not only maintain long-term exchanges with the national team system, but also establish stable communication with a large number of commercial aerospace companies and new entrants. At the same time, we maintain high-frequency interactions with capital markets, local governments and industrial parks.
This kind of cross-subject, long-term tracking allows us to compare and see significant differences in definitions, statistics, and expressions of the same industry between different positions.
Nihao Space does not represent the position of a certain type of enterprise, capital or institution, but is closer to a third-party observer and organizer: it is close to front-line practice and is not bound to a single stakeholder.
This is one of the reasons why we chose the “annual report” format:
Industry consensus cannot be completed by one institution, but must be an open, participatory, and verifiable process.
03
This is not something that one agency can accomplish
We know one thing very well:
Any annual report with real industry value cannot be written “behind closed doors” by a few people.
The complexity of China’s commercial aerospace industry has far exceeded the knowledge boundaries of a single team.
Therefore, Nihao Space × Luduan Think Tank has decided to openly solicit expert consultants and review members for the “2026 China Commercial Aerospace Industry Annual Report” from the whole society.
What we would like to invite are:
Experts who have long been engaged in engineering and technical work in aerospace research institutes and national team systems;
Founder/CTO/Technical Director/Strategic Director of a commercial aerospace enterprise;
Among investment institutions, investors who continue to pay attention to aerospace and hard technology;
Professionals engaged in industrial research and policy formulation in governments, industrial parks, and think tanks;
A researcher with long-term research accumulation on industry data, methodology, and international benchmarking.
You don’t need to “know it all”, but we hope that you have truly understood, done and judged in a certain niche area.
04
What will the expert consultants be involved in?
Participation methods include but are not limited to:
Discussion of the overall framework and methodology of the report;
Data verification and content writing in a certain segment;
Review of industry definitions and classification standards;
Professional review and revision of core conclusions;
Data and logic verification of the international benchmarking part.
This is a high-intensity, serious, non-marketing-oriented industry joint construction project.
05
About “return” and “commitment”
We clearly make three commitments:
1) The basic version of “2026 China Commercial Aerospace Industry Annual Report” will be made available to the entire industry free of charge
We want this report to be:
The industry’s public intellectual assets, rather than “private materials” locked behind paywalls.
2) Participating experts will be officially signed and included in the report think tank system
The list of experts will be included in the report’s official acknowledgments and signatures;
Form a long-term expert network of Nihao Space × Luduan Think Tank;
Priority will be given to invitations to participate in follow-up research, forums, and policy communication.
This is a job that leaves “infrastructure” for the industry. Many years later, when the industry looks back at today’s data and judgment, I hope it still holds up.
3) The “China Commercial Aerospace Industry Annual Report” is not a one-time project
Nihao Space × Luduan Think Tank plans to continue to make rolling revisions to industry definitions, corporate maps, segmented tracks and data calibers through annual updates.
The industry is not “clarified” by one report, but by being “calibrated” continuously for many years.
06
Why now?
We chose to use the data from 2015 to 2025 as the basis and focus on completing the report writing from January to April 2026. There is only one reason:
China’s commercial aerospace industry is entering a critical window period before its structure is finalized.
If this is not done now, looking back three years from now, it will only become more confusing and fragmented.
07
if you are willing to participate
If you agree with the value of this matter,
If you want to leave something long-term effective for China’s commercial aerospace industry,
Leave your information and we will contact you as soon as possible.
This is not a short-term project;
It is an attempt by the industry to jointly establish a coordinate system.
China’s commercial aerospace industry deserves a truly solid annual report.
It also deserves a group of people who are willing to lay the foundation for the industry.
Because today’s industry coordinate system will affect the way of judgment in the next ten years.
Hello Space × Luduan Think Tank
“2026 China Commercial Aerospace Industry Annual Report” Project Team
