Low-earth orbit small satellite has low-cost, high-performance features, with further cost reduction and lower technology threshold, GalaxySpace plans to build a small satellite network.
View of earth and satellite. Image credit: Nasa/Unsplash
With the new capital injected, GalaxySpace (银河航天) which was founded in 2016, has become one of the most valuable start-ups in commercial spaceflight industry. This round of financing was led by Jiantouhuake (建投华科), investors also include IDG Capital.
Positioning itself as a combination of internet and spaceflight, GalaxySpace aims at building a low-earth orbit small satellite network that able to achieve cost down and high performance; its main downstream application is broadband communication, especially for 5G.
In terms of the spread possibility of 5G, one limitation factor could be the difficulty of constructing ground-based stations above extreme regional conditions such as ocean or desert. This increase the demand of low-earth orbit satellite network, which able to upgrade the global communication network.
According to the 2019 State of the Satellite Industry published by SIA, the total number of satellites launched in 2018 exceeded 300. Among all the operational satellites in the orbit, telecommunication satellites accounted for nearly one quarter of total.
Satellites of low mass and size, usually under 500 kg are small satellites. With advantages including small size, quick manufacturing, fast technology update, good performance and strong survivability. The number of small satellites will usher in growth.
GalaxySpace is not the only one which has performed well in this frontier. Since 2015, start-ups in the commercial spaceflight industry have been emerging, mainly driven by the military-civilian integration policy and market demand.
Capital has been enthusiastic about domestic start-ups which focus on low-earth orbit and small sized satellites due to the profitability and applications. Piesat (航天宏图) was founded in January 2008, and has completed its IPO in the STAR market in July this year. Commsat (九天微星) has also raised more than CNY 200 million with 5 rounds of financing since its establishment before 4 years. With further cost reduction, plus returnable launch carriers, profit-making in the commercial spaceflight sector become possible.