Hello and welcome to another episode of the Dongfang Hour China Aero/Space News Roundup! Without further ado, the news update from the week of 8 - 14 March.

0:00 Welcome and news summary
1:15 Commercial spaceport
6:10 Two Sessions and Satellite Internet
19:15 Long March-7A launch
24:38 Galactic Energy and Jianyang

1) A new dedicated spaceport for commercial launch companies?
With China’s 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) being finalized in the coming days/weeks, we noticed an announcement on Saturday 13 March from the Science and Technology Daily (科技日报), the official newspaper of the Ministry of Science & Technology. Notably: 1) Build an integrated communications, EO, satnav space system with global coverage, and 2) build a commercial launch center.

The first point--building an integrated communications, EO, and satnav space system with global coverage, is not particularly new or surprising. China has been talking about the Belt and Road Spatial Information Corridor, and about the idea of “Integration of Comms,EO, and Satnav” (通导遥一体化) for several years.

The second point is more surprising. China’s announcement to build a commercial launch site is not something that has been as widely discussed as the above-mentioned integrated network. To now, China’s four launch sites remain controlled by the People’s Liberation Army, and while commercial launch companies have been able to launch from Jiuquan, it is believed to involve some rather prickly regulatory hurdles. While not clear who would regulate the commercial launch site, it would likely be somewhat more independent than the existing launch infrastructure.
https://bit.ly/2Onlf2b

2) What role will commercial companies play in China’s future satellite internet?
Every year in China, the National People’s Congress, China’s national legislature, holds a session, generally in early Spring (with the exception of 2020 due to covid19). At the same time, China’s People’s Political Consultation Conference is held, bringing together delegations from the CCP but also business people, the military, and academics. It acts as an important advisory platform bringing multiple facets of China’s society and economy into one place. Both sessions represent a moment where past policies are reviewed and future policies discussed.

First event: Bao Weimin (director of the S&T Commission of CASC) Officially Acknowledged the Guowang (国网) Program on March 7, during an interview with Shanghai Securities News. Bao Weimin is a member of the PPCC, so this insight is of particular interest. The quote from Bao Weimin is actually quite short: "We are planning and developing space-based Internet satellites, and have launched test satellites. The state will also set up a dedicated “Guo Wang” (国网, meaning “national network”) company to be responsible for the overall planning and operation of the satellite internet infrastructure”.
https://bit.ly/3eL7AfM
https://bit.ly/3rLNt4U

3) China successfully launches Long March 7A Y2 one year after the rocket’s maiden launch (and failure)
China successfully launched for the first time the Long March 7A rocket on Thursday March 11th, putting a satellite named Shiyan-9 into GTO. This is a significant event for several reasons. First of all, this is a nice addition to the Chinese Long March rocket family. The current workhorse for China’s GEO launches is the old LM-3 rockets, in service since the 1990s. This rocket uses extremely toxic hypergolic fuels, a issue for operations on the ground but also post-flight as the boosters come crashing back down on Chinese territory.
Perhaps more importantly, LM7A fills in a gap within China’s GEO launch capabilities. LM3 in its heaviest version (LM3B/E with enhanced boosters and core stage) is only able to put 5.5 tons into GEO, while LM7A is able to put 7t. LM 7A fills a gap between LM3 and the much larger (although same height) LM5, which puts 14t in GTO. So LM7A will be launching China’s larger GEO satellites, although the largest ones with still be launched by LM5 (such as the DFH5 satellites).

4) Galactic Energy Appears at Jianyang Investment Conference
Chinese commercial launch company Galactic Energy appeared at an investment conference held in Jianyang, near Chengdu, on 10 March. The article, posted on Galactic Energy’s official WeChat account, notes that the company’s Ceres-1 intelligent manufacturing base in Jianyang is nearing completion, with the base expected to come online in May of this year.

https://bit.ly/2NgRvTU

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