China’s commercial space sector expands global footprint with Thailand deal

GalaxySpace describes mission as first turnkey satellite export to a Southeast Asian customer by a Chinese commercial space company Beijing-based GalaxySpace’s deployed what it called China’s first turnkey satellite export to Southeast Asia this week, underscoring the country’s efforts to boost its influence in the space industry overseas amid competition with Elon Musk’s SpaceX. GalaxySpace said it launched the Lingzhi-09 Thailand CubeSat aboard a Long March-6C rocket – alongside six other satellites – from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Centre in Shanxi province on Tuesday. Developed for Thailand’s Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency (GISTDA), the CubeSat satellite will collect remote-sensing data for land, agriculture and ecological applications, and also support practical training for Thai university students. The mission marked the first time that a Chinese commercial space company had developed, launched and deployed a complete satellite in orbit for a Southeast Asian customer as a packaged solution, showing the sector’s ability to provide integrated services spanning satellite delivery, operations and training, the company said.

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