Five Chinese State-Owned Firms Jointly Set Up Rocket Launch Company in Shanghai

Five Chinese state-owned enterprises have jointly established a new company in Shanghai that focuses on offshore rocket launches, with the shareholders covering the entire supply chain, including rocket manufacturing, satellite networking, offshore engineering, industrial parks, and capital operations.

Shanghai Commercial Aerospace Sea Launch Technology was set up with a registered capital of CNY1.1 billion (USD161.3 million) on April 30, according to business data platform Qichacha. Its scope includes providing civil aerospace launch technology services, research, development, and manufacturing of rocket launch equipment, and R&D of rocket control systems.

Guosheng Group, China Aerospace Science and Technology Commercial Launch Vehicle Group, or CACL, Spacecom Satellite Technology, China Offshore Engineering & Technology, and Xinzhuang Industrial Zone Economic & Technological Development own 27.3 percent, 22.7 percent, 18.2 percent, 18.2 percent, and 13.6 percent of the new firm, respectively.

CACL is affiliated with state-owned aerospace giant China Aerospace Science and Technology, which has upstream rocket development capabilities. Spacecom Satellite operates SpaceSail, known as the Chinese version of Starlink, and has a pressing demand for large-scale, low-cost rocket launches.

China Offshore Engineering & Technology will provide engineering technology and equipment for building an offshore launch platform, while Xinzhuang Industrial Zone and Guosheng will offer land and financial support.

Shanghai is accelerating the construction of a national hub for the commercial aerospace market, aiming for the local industry to exceed CNY100 billion (USD14.7 billion) by the end of next year and produce 100 commercial rockets and 1,000 commercial satellites per year, according to a plan the local government released in April last year.

In January, Shanghai announced plans to establish a "Rocket City" in the Xinzhuang Industrial Park in Minhang district, aiming to create a commercial aerospace cluster encompassing research, manufacturing, launch, operation, and application. Its goals include building a full supply chain for reusable rockets by 2027.