Hainan launch site eyes expansion as satellite uses grow
RTHK · 1 SOURCESabout 1 hour ago2 MIN
Summary
Mainland commercial space companies are stepping up expansion plans in Hainan as satellite applications move toward larger-scale and more market-driven use. Operators say satellite data is already being applied in areas including disaster prevention, disaster reduction, agriculture and water management.
Key Points
- The Hainan commercial space launch site carried out its first launch in late November 2024 and has since completed 21 launch missions, according to Radio Television Hong Kong.
- In the middle of this month, the site successfully launched 24 low-Earth-orbit satellite internet satellites into their planned orbit.
- Xu Xi-kai, deputy head of the development planning department at Hainan International Commercial Aerospace Launch Co., said the site plans to increase launch facilities to eight in total.
- Xu said future growth areas could include greater space-based computing capacity, on-orbit servicing and even space tourism, while the launch site was designed to withstand level-17 typhoons.
- Xu added that Hong Kong has strong scientific research advantages and could deepen collaboration linking industry, academia and research with the mainland space sector.
- Xu Ning-yang of Hainan Changguang Satellite Information Technology said satellite imagery can quickly capture post-disaster conditions and, when compared with historical data, help define affected areas and assess losses.
- The company said a satellite it launched with the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology three years ago flew over Hong Kong after Super Typhoon Saola in 2023, recording flooding and signs of landslides.
- Changguang Satellite said it has launched 161 Jilin-1 satellites so far and aims to have 300 satellites in orbit before 2030.
Why It Matters
For Hong Kong, the report points to practical uses of satellite data in post-typhoon assessment and slope or flooding monitoring, areas that matter in a city exposed to severe weather. It also suggests room for closer Hong Kong-mainland cooperation in research and commercial aerospace as launch capacity and satellite networks expand.