The announcement that China will build its fifth space launch center in Xiangshan, Ningbo City, Zhejiang Province, to meet the demand for commercial satellite launches in the next 5 to 10 years drew wide attention on Tuesday.
In its 14th five-year (2021-2025) plan, Zhejiang province will invest 20 billion yuan ($3 billion) to build the Xiangshan Space Center, which includes a launch pad, command center and assembly and test workshop, covering 67 square kilometers and capable of launching up to 100 rockets a year.
Xiangshan Space Launch Site, suddenly attracted the attention of the world.
As a satellite launch center, Xiangshan has unique advantages, as nearby Ningbo and Taizhou have mold and electronics industries, which are closely related to rocket manufacturing. If a complete industrial chain can be formed, Xiangshan can even be manufactured and assembled on site, without having to travel thousands of miles, according to Reuters, citing domestic media reports.
Elephant Mountain is also at a similar latitude to Cape Canaveral, where the Kennedy Space Center is located, making it a good site for commercial space launches.Moreover, the clearance conditions of Xiangshan are excellent, and the falling area of the rocket propulsion section is almost the ocean.
At present, China has three inland launch sites in Jiuquan, Taiyuan and Xichang, and one coastal launch site in Wenchang, Hainan.According to media analysis, the four existing launch sites are “national teams”, undertaking the country’s large-scale space program, while Xiangshan focuses on commercial space development.