At 12:15 on July 10, 2026, at the Hainan Commercial Space Launch Site, the Jinchan Long March 10B carrier rocket was launched and successfully sent the satellite into its designated orbit. After about 6 minutes of separation between the first and second stages of the rocket, the first stage returned vertically and was successfully recovered. This mission is the first successful implementation of controllable recovery of a first stage carrier rocket in China, and also the world's first carrier rocket network recovery, marking a historic breakthrough in the field of reusable rocket technology in China.

The successful launch and recovery of this rocket is a microcosm of the thriving development of China's aerospace industry. In the first year of the 15th Five Year Plan, the construction of a space power has entered a critical period of comprehensive promotion. China's aerospace industry is firmly moving forward along the path of independent innovation towards the grand goal of becoming a space power. The Outline of the 15th Five Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development of the People's Republic of China proposes to accelerate the development of strategic emerging industries such as new generation information technology, new energy, new materials, intelligent connected new energy vehicles, robots, biomedicine, high-end equipment, aerospace, etc

In Tianjin, the aerospace industry has a strong foundation and has become one of the top in the country. Here, not only have "national team" heavy equipment such as Tianjin Aerospace Long March Rocket Manufacturing Co., Ltd. and Tianjin Base of Aerospace Fifth Academy landed and taken root, but also an increasingly mature industrial chain has grown, as well as a group of private enterprises that dare to look up at the stars and pursue their dreams. The "Tianjin Government Work Report for 2026" clearly states that "the aerospace industry will strengthen its leading role and systematically improve its supporting infrastructure in fields such as large aircraft, large rockets, satellite manufacturing and applications, aerospace batteries, and aviation materials." From rockets and space station core modules to various types of satellites, one after another, the great national heavy equipment will carry the dream of building a strong country to the "stars" here.

In Tianjin, a land full of vitality and innovation, the aerospace industry is flourishing and developing, with countless "stars" in Tianjin's production, forming a chain of beads and converging into a galaxy, leaving a mark in the sky.

Connecting satellites to connect the 'sensory nerves'

The launch of the rocket has attracted widespread attention, but there is also an invisible system silently operating above the rocket and inside the satellite - navigation, measurement and control, communication. These integrated electronic devices are like the "eyes" and "ears" of the satellite, allowing the satellites in the sky to be "visible and manageable" by the ground. Behind every satellite, the protection of the 'behind the scenes heroes' is indispensable.

In 2017, Tianjin Xunlian Technology Co., Ltd. was established in Tianjin Port Free Trade Zone. The company aims to meet the demand for low-cost, lightweight, and high-performance supporting products in commercial aerospace. While meeting performance indicators, it prioritizes the use of commercial components and ensures product stability and reliability through redundant design, software reliability measures, and other means. When the first product was launched, not only did the price decrease significantly, but the weight also dropped from over ten kilograms to several hundred grams.

The brand new product quickly received market response.   The products cover key equipment such as navigation orbit determination receivers and integrated measurement, control, and data transmission machines. Today, Xunlian Technology has provided more than 80% of the mainstream commercial aerospace satellites with on-board products in general, and has deeply participated in the construction of the national satellite Internet project.

  A new generation of inter satellite communication payload has been launched in 2026 with a test satellite, which can support the networking of ten thousand star level constellations in the future - which means that more "Tianjin made" satellite equipment will work silently in space in the future satellite Internet.

Armored and rocket protected, wearing a 'black gold helmet'

When a rocket rises into space, the fairing located at the head needs to isolate temperatures of thousands of degrees Celsius and protect the satellite payload. The manufacturing technology of this key component is extremely difficult and the process is complex. Traditional fairings use alloy materials, which are heavy and costly, while the technology of using carbon fiber composite materials has long been monopolized by foreign countries.

Carbon fiber is known as the 'black gold' of the 21st century, which proves its value. At that time, we wanted to 'gamble' on the future of carbon fiber, "said Ji Baofeng, General Manager of Tianjin Aisida Aerospace Technology Co., Ltd. In 2018, China's commercial aerospace industry was in its early stages, and with years of industry acumen, a team of ten people was established - which was the prototype of Aisida. Eight years have passed, and now the team has grown from ten people to over four hundred people, with an average age of only 31 years old. Among them, many people, like Ji Baofeng, travel back and forth between Beijing and Tianjin every day, becoming experienced "Tianjin drifters". "Building rockets on high-speed trains" is the norm for this group of dream chasers.

The R&D center in Yizhuang, Beijing is responsible for design tasks, while the headquarters base of Dongli, Tianjin is responsible for intelligent manufacturing. With the collaborative advantages of the two places, Aisida has successively overcome process difficulties such as the integrated molding of large-sized carbon fiber composite materials. The product diameter has iterated from 1 meter to the current 5-meter super large specification. On June 15, 2026, the Lijian-1 Yao-14 carrier rocket was successfully launched, accurately sending 8 satellites into their designated orbits. The fairing, satellite mount, and other core components of this rocket are all provided by Aisida. A 135 ton rocket with a fairing weighing only 1.1 tons can carry an additional satellite payload into space for every 1 kilogram reduction in weight.

Since the first successful launch of domestic private rockets in 2019, behind every domestic commercial rocket flight mission, there has been protection from Aisida. As the leading unit of major national science and technology projects, the team is focusing on the continuous development of high-performance aerospace composite materials. Starting from renting an old factory building in 2018, and now building a modern headquarters base, after the second phase project covering an area of more than 120 acres is put into operation, the enterprise will achieve full-scale production throughout the entire process. We will also continuously promote the upgrading and iteration of our processes and products, while assisting the development of China's aerospace industry, and promoting the landing and flowering of this new technology in multiple fields, "said Ji Baofeng.

Weaving a 'satellite sky network' of sky survey and observation data

When the weather changes, warning messages can be quickly received on mobile phones; When the ship is sailing far away, it can accurately plan the route to avoid wind and waves; New energy power plants need to predict power generation, and there is also data to rely on... When we look up at the sky, an invisible "sky net" is being woven - a constellation of meteorological satellites from Yunyao Aerospace is continuously transmitting high-precision data back to the ground.

In 2019, Tianjin Yunyao Aerospace Technology Co., Ltd. was founded in the Tianjin Port Free Trade Zone. At that time, the domestic commercial meteorological detection field was still in its infancy. The team started from scratch, continuously breaking through core technologies such as multi system fusion detection, high-precision signal processing, and miniaturized integrated design, and successfully developed a system compatible with Beidou GPS、GLONASS、 The GNSS occultation detection payload of Galileo's four major navigation systems. In December 2021, the first operational satellite of Yunyao Aerospace, "Tianjin University One," was successfully launched.

As of now, Yunyao Aerospace has successfully launched 47 satellites into low Earth orbit at a distance of 535 kilometers from the ground, ranking first in the country in terms of the number of commercial meteorological satellite launches. In July 2023, the Yunyao series satellite occultation profile product became the first socialized observation data product in China to pass the business access review of the China Meteorological Administration. In December 2024, the Yunyao series satellite data officially entered the comprehensive meteorological observation system of the China Meteorological Administration and achieved business operation - this is the first time that domestic commercial small satellite data has been approved to enter the national level meteorological business system.

These data have already served the national economy and people's livelihood in a tangible way - during the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Tianjin Summit in 2025, Yunyao Aerospace provided customized meteorological data packages and collaborated to complete scenario based meteorological support work. In the field of new energy, Yunyao Aerospace's first commercial project for new energy meteorology has landed in Anhui, providing support for new energy power plants through accurate meteorological data prediction. At present, wind power prediction products have been widely applied in nearly 50 large-scale wind and solar stations, and ocean meteorological navigation services cover over 2.5 million nautical miles of shipping routes.

In early 2026, Yunyao Aerospace officially released two core products: the "Yunyao Power Prediction" system and the "Full Stack Self Developed X-band Commercial SAR Satellite". The former is based on a meteorological constellation consisting of 90 satellites, while the latter has sub meter level imaging capabilities and can flexibly respond to the needs of multiple industry scenarios such as natural resource monitoring, disaster prevention and mitigation, and environmental protection. According to Xu Aijia, the head of the President's Office of Yunyao Aerospace, the company is gradually promoting a network plan of 90 satellites. After the network is successfully established, the company will use higher quality data services to serve various industries.

The reporter learned from the Tianjin Municipal Bureau of Industry and Information Technology that by 2025, the industrial output value of the aerospace industry chain will increase by 10.3%, and the added value will increase by 9.7%. From January to May 2026, the industrial output value of the aerospace industry chain will increase by 16.8%, and the added value will increase by 4.3%. At present, the aviation and aerospace industry in the city covers four major fields: large aircraft, low altitude equipment, basic aerospace, and commercial aerospace, forming a relatively complete industrial system with research and production capabilities for the entire industry chain of "aircraft, arrows, satellites, and stations". The new generation carrier rocket industry base and large-scale spacecraft assembly and testing base in the field of basic aerospace are accelerating their development and growth, becoming important gathering areas for the aerospace industry in China. The commercial aerospace industry is at the forefront of the country in the fields of commercial satellite assembly and networking, commercial rocket production and supporting facilities.

According to the 15th Five Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development of Tianjin, the scale of Tianjin's aerospace industry is expected to reach 50 billion yuan by 2030. From Xunlian Technology, which provides key equipment for satellites, to Aisida, which builds "light helmets" for rockets, to Yunyao Aerospace, which weaves a "sky net" with satellites - these private enterprises rooted in Tianjin are participating in China's aerospace process in their own ways. Their names may not often appear in the spotlight, but they are still an indispensable part of this industry chain.

In the view of Wu Qi, Vice President of Tianjin Economic Development Research Institute, "accelerating the construction of a strong aerospace country" is a major task of the 15th Five Year Plan. Tianjin, as a national advanced manufacturing and research and development base, bears an important mission in the construction of a strong aerospace country. During the "15th Five Year Plan" period, Tianjin will focus on four major advantageous areas, further strengthen policy support, enhance enterprise services, strengthen project cultivation, promote the development of the aerospace industry chain, and strive to cultivate the aerospace industry into an emerging pillar industry.