BEIJING, Jan. 25 (Xinhua) -- At a commercial space exhibition in the Chinese capital Beijing, market manager Huang Heping has spent the day fielding nonstop inquiries from Kazakhstan, Thailand, Brazil, Pakistan and Romania about potential cooperation on satellite products and services.
"There's significant interest in our innovations like low-cost mass production and flexible solar wings," said Huang from satellite manufacturer GalaxySpace, a key supplier for China's internet satellite constellation project.
The main buzz at this three-day expo, which concluded Sunday, revolved around price quotes and partnership discussions.
The event drew over 300 commercial aerospace companies, showcasing the full industrial chain from launch vehicles and satellite manufacturing to space applications, supporting services and investment.
China's commercial space sector has become one of the hottest markets since the test flights of two reusable rockets last December. The country's recent ambitious application to the International Telecommunication Union for frequency and orbital resources for 203,000 satellites has further ignited the industry's vision.
It's not just star rocket makers like LandSpace and Galactic Energy seeing bustling crowds. Even at the humbler booths of small and medium-sized enterprises specializing in bearings, hydraulics and electronic components, inquiries never stopped.
By the first day, their name-card boxes were already half full. Visitors went straight to the point, detailing the products they could supply and diving into price discussions and calculations. For these commercial firms, cost is the top priority.
Yang Di, a representative from iSpace, analyzed R&D expenses for reusable versus non-reusable rockets. "Sending a rocket to orbit first and then developing reusability features costs more than directly developing an orbital reusable rocket," he explained.
"But some companies opt for non-reusable rockets for greater payload capacity. It's a matter of different commercial strategies," Yang added. A queue of people waited behind him to ask questions. He noted that his company aims to launch the maiden flight of its reusable Hyperbola-3 rocket this year, joining the growing ranks of firms testing such technology.
In Beijing's Yizhuang district or E-town, where the expo is held, the newly completed "Rocket Street" industrial cluster was officially launched. At a promotional event tied to the expo, six service platforms along the street were unveiled, including a commercial aerospace measurement, tracking and control center, a shared testing platform, and space situational awareness services.
Last November, China's space agency released an action plan to support commercial space firms and encourage international cooperation over the next two years.
The China National Space Administration vowed to expand commercial access to its national network of civilian TT&C stations, data-receiving sites, calibration ranges, large test assets like rocket-engine test stands, and space-environment simulation facilities.
"In 2026, GalaxySpace will continue promoting China's satellite internet capabilities and solutions by expanding overseas application demonstrations and testing cooperation," Huang said.
Another firm, CAS Space, showcased a model of its suborbital vehicle, the Lihong, at the expo. Visitors lined up to step inside the model and don VR headsets to experience a simulated spaceflight.
This month, the Lihong-1 spacecraft completed its maiden flight, reaching approximately 120 kilometers and carrying Chinese rose seeds. It also conducted an in-space metal 3D printing experiment.
"The near space at altitudes of 100 to 200 kilometers is an ideal experimental environment for microgravity research like space manufacturing and biomedicine," said Fan Na, vice president of CAS Space.
The company has established a joint space medicine lab with a hospital based on this concept. "It can bring data back quickly, accelerating the iteration of new drug development," Fan added.
On Friday, commercial spacecraft developer InterstellOr, which plans to tap the space tourism market, announced its first group of space tourists: an 84-year-old power grid expert, a young actor and a humanoid robot. This announcement comes after the recent completion of an integrated verification trial for the landing-buffering system of its crewed spacecraft.
Enthusiasm was evident among the young children visiting the expo. "I want to be an astronaut," said an elementary school student from the Affiliated Primary School of Capital Normal University after experiencing the Lihong crewed vehicle simulation. ■
