The big ambitions of China’s private space industry

AROUND a decade ago, Chinese President Xi Jinping said he dreamed of making China a “space power”. Since then, the country has put a rover on Mars and built one of the two operational space stations orbiting Earth. Now, its private space industry aims to make an even bigger impact.

China’s companies may, for the first time in their histories, successfully recover the first stage of a rocket – a vital step for slashing launch costs – opening a galaxy of opportunity. Meanwhile, new private launch pads will be completed, new satellite factories will ramp up production, and a new government department will funnel more state resources into the industry.

China’s space firms still lag rivals abroad. None of the 600 companies in the sector towers over it like Elon Musk’s SpaceX does in America, though a clutch of entrepreneurs has emerged who hope to. Among the most prominent are Zhang Changwu, a former financier, and Kang Yonglai, an engineer, who founded launch companies LandSpace and Space Pioneer, respectively.