China’s private manufacturing companies have made significant headway in shifting their conventional business to commercial space industry by stepping up integrated innovation.
As a leading industry player, the No. 2 Construction Machinery Plant of Fangyuan Group, is a long-established private company in Yantai City, east China’s Shandong Province, specializing in the production of pile drivers, lifts and other machineries.
This seemingly unrelated company is now thriving as a supplier in the commercial space industry, after upgrading its production lines on the basis of existing large-scale computerized numerical control (CNC) equipment and sophisticated manufacturing technologies.
“We mainly process aluminum materials to a consistent thickness by CNC machining, and then send them to the next factory,” said Zhang Wei, production manager of the company.
This factory produces parts that will be used as the bottoms of rocket propellant tank. The products will be sent to another factory 10 kilometers away for the production of propellant tanks.
Private companies did not have the production technology for both the body and bottoms just three years ago, but now, commercial rocket manufacturers can purchase propellant tanks from private companies.
“Our next goal is to shorten the production cycle by half and cut cost by half,” said Wang Hailong, deputy director of production planning department of a rocket propellant tank manufacturing company.
According to industry insiders, private companies are estimated to account for over 70 percent in the supply chain system of the commercial space industry with a rising trend in its proportion.
“We are constantly looking for suitable companies in industries such as machinery, aviation, automobiles and consumer electronic and inform them the needs of space companies set up here, while guiding them to continuously upgrade and improve technical capabilities, so that commercial space industry completely opens its supply chain to private companies,” said Chu Na, deputy director of the Aerospace Industry Development Center of Haiyang City, a county-level city under the administration of Yantai.
Another private company in Yantai, that originally produce air dome stadiums, has entered the aerospace supply chain through technological innovation. It now produces windproof and rainproof inflatable coat that can ensure safety of rocket during the transport process to an offshore launch site.
In response to the needs of high-performance product and cost reduction, another private company developed a special foam insulation coating used on core components of rockets, by improving and upgrading insulation materials used in the construction industry.
On the basis of innovation on rocket parts production, the commercial space industry is witnessing more and more integrated innovation.
“This is the fourth stage of a rocket. This is the brain of the fourth stage, which used to be four, but now has been [integrated into] one. This is a bracket made of lightweight carbon fiber composite material. Under it, this is a brand-new 3D printed nozzle. We developed these new technologies and new materials together with private companies. Integrating these technologies, we can reduce the cost and production cycle by more than 30 percent,” said Gong Yicheng, deputy director of structural technology department of a commercial rocket company.
Private companies in Shandong making headway in shifting business to commercial space industry
Haiyang, a seaside city in eastern China that used to rely on textile manufacturing, has achieved an industrial transformation and turned itself into a leading commercial aerospace center in the country and a popular tourism attraction.
Located in the eastern Shandong Province with a population of fewer than 600,000, the county-level city is receiving an increasing number of the tourists after making national headlines as the commercial launch vehicle CERES-1, carrying four satellites, blasted off from the waters surrounding the city last year.
What’s different about this mission was that the rocket was lifted off from a sea-based platform, named Oriental Spaceport, China’s first multi-purpose vessel for maritime rocket launch and recovery.
According to a local governmental official, the prosperous development of the aerospace industry has injected new vitality into the economic growth of the city.
“The average temperature here in summer is generally below 30 degrees Celsius, which feels comfortable, so summer vacation tours in our city have always been very popular. In the past two years, the construction of the sea-based launching platform has led to the rise of educational trips, adding vitality to the city with all these visitors,” said Sui Lirong, deputy director of cultural and tourism bureau of Haiyang City.
“My kid is on summer vacation, so I brought her here to see first-hand the offshore launch site,” said a parent.
A tour guide said they receive a weekly average of two to three tour groups consisting of more than 100 visitors in summer, and their visits have greatly boosted local industries such as catering, hospitality, transportation and services.
In fact, the city has long been known as a manufacturing cluster for sweater and knitwear, with at least one related company found in every five square kilometers.
The enterprises have been updating their facilities and innovating products to further strengthen the traditional industry, while the city is introducing new growth drivers to promote the development of the economy.
“The strategic emerging industries and driving force for economic development are still not strong enough in Haiyang City. Therefore, the construction of the Oriental Spaceport and the development of the commercial aerospace industry can precisely fill the gap and help us achieve green, low-carbon, and high-quality development,” said Guan Peng, director of key project department of the city’s development and reform bureau.
As a county-level city, Haiyang currently has three train stations, three academician workstations, two nuclear power plants, and one intelligent computing center.
Last year, the city’s GDP grew by 6.6 percent year on year, and it has attracted over 3,000 talents of various sectors throughout the year.
Coastal city achieves industrial transformation with growing aerospace sector
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