City to boost satellite-related industries

Shenzhen is now collecting industrial key projects relating to satellites and their applications to seek the industrial development opportunities and constructing "satellite+" innovation ecology.

The projects include six orientations, namely demonstrations of special application scenarios, research on major equipment and key spare parts, key technologies' research and innovative applications, core products and spare parts industrialization, civil use and public service platform infrastructure construction and major industries' public service platform.

This June, in a move to be a global satellite and applied industrial innovation pinnacle, Shenzhen Municipal Development and Reform Commission unveiled a regulation covering 16 innovation measures from five aspects including advancing application scenarios, enhancing innovation capabilities and consolidating infrastructures.

Shenzhen will offer a subsidy up to 200 million yuan (US$31.43 million) for a single satellite project and up to 50 million yuan for satellite launch insurance.

In the regulation, the city encourages the integration of satellites with different industries to forge different application scenarios, supporting application of satellite technologies in different industries like transportation and logistics, marine economy, natural resources, urban safety and environmental protection. For demonstration projects with great market potentials, the city will provide subsidies up to 30 million yuan a year.

The city supports private enterprises in construction of civil space infrastructures like the high-powered broadband communications satellite system and will offer subsidies up to 200 million yuan for a single project and 50 million for launch insurance.

The city also supports leading enterprises to set up satellite industrial parks and to form an industrial cluster in chip research, telecommunications research and developments, remote sensing data treatment and research and operations of intelligent satellites.

For research on major facilities, core technologies and key spare parts relating to comprehensive and integrated application of communications, navigation and sensing, the city will offer subsidies up to 300 million yuan.

Shenzhen has made solid progress in the development of its satellite industries and its global influence has kept increasing in recent years.

In December 2018, the first satellite for the Hongyan constellation, which is comprised of hundreds of satellites in the first phase, was launched. It was the first national-level commercial space project developed by Shenzhen Aerospace Dongfanghong Development Ltd. After completion, the constellation will provide services in various areas, including Internet of Things (IoT), intelligent terminals, mobile broadcast, navigation enhancement and broadband.

In September 2019, China's first polar-observing satellite, BNU-1, which was made in Shenzhen, was launched. In one year, it obtained more than 2,500 images covering the Arctic and Antarctic regions. It is the first member of China's polar observation satellite constellation, which will have a total of 24 satellites. Supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology, the satellite was designed by Beijing Normal University and jointly developed by China Great Wall Industry Corp. and Shenzhen Aerospace Dongfanghong Satellite Co. Ltd.

In July 2020, a high-powered broadband communications satellite, Apstar 6D, designed to provide internet access to airline passengers, cruise ships, fishing vessels, and other mobile users, was successfully launched aboard a Chinese Long March 3B rocket. This made Shenzhen become the second city in China that owns a communications satellite.

It is estimated that the market of satellite mobile communications terminals will reach 8 billion yuan in the coming five years. The city will support enterprises developing core products related to satellites and its applications, research and scientific achievement transformations of satellite terminals, BeiDou navigation system, liquid crystal phased array antenna and remote sensing mapping equipment.