On this episode of Space Minds, SpaceNews China correspondent Andrew Jones joins host Mike Gruss to unpack China\u2019s year\u2011end sprint in space: expected tests tied to Long March\u202f10 and a new crew spacecraft, up to eight maiden commercial launches from firms like Landspace and Space Pioneer alongside CASC\u2019s Long March\u201112A, and the state\u2011backed funding push behind national mega\u2011constellations.<\/p>\n
He also breaks down the recent \u201cnon\u2011Earth imaging\u201d cat\u2011and\u2011mouse between Maxar and Chang Guang Satellite Technology\u2014and shares how he verifies news from Finland as China\u2019s space information ecosystem evolves.<\/p>\n
Click here for Notes and Transcript<\/p>\n
Time Markers<\/p>\n
00:00 \u2013 Episode introduction
00:31 \u2013 Welcome
00:59 \u2013 Year-end sprint
05:20 \u2013 What led to this?
09:32 \u2013 Big funding announcements
11:49 \u2013 Satellite one-upmanship
15:23 \u2013 Finding and verifying stories<\/p>\n
Transcript \u2013 Andrew Jones Conversation<\/p>\n
This transcript has been edited-for-clarity.<\/p>\n
Mike Gruss \u2013 Hi everyone. I\u2019m joined today by Andrew Jones, SpaceNews\u2019 China correspondent. Andrew, I wanted to have you on today because you write a newsletter for us every two weeks about China\u2019s space industry and their activities. In the latest issue, you wrote about China\u2019s big push between now and the end of the year, particularly in the launch industry. Why don\u2019t we start there\u2014what should people be looking for between now and the end of 2025, which sounds like it\u2019s going to be a real rush?<\/p>\n
Andrew Jones \u2013 The first thing to look for is the China Report, which comes out every two weeks and summarizes our reporting from the Chinese space sector. The idea was to take a look at what\u2019s going on in China before the end of the year and give readers an idea of what might be coming down the pipeline.<\/p>\n
There are two main strands here. One is China\u2019s crewed lunar program. We could see new tests for that\u2014this year, for example, we saw a static fire for a shortened version of the Long March 10 first stage. We might soon see a low-altitude test or a full-size first-stage static fire. There\u2019s also the new crew spacecraft, designed to take astronauts to the Moon. They\u2019ve already done a pad abort test, and the next thing expected is an in-flight abort test at MaxQ. We\u2019re not sure if this will happen at Jiuquan in northwest China or Hainan\u2019s coastal spaceport. Those will be key signs of China\u2019s progress on the hardware it needs to send astronauts to the Moon and back.<\/p>\n
The other strand is the wave of launches nearing their first orbital tests. There are up to eight rockets from commercial space companies\u2014plus one from the state-owned CASC, the Long March-12A, which could include a launch-and-landing test on its first orbital flight. Companies like Space Pioneer, Landspace, iSpace, Orienspace, Deep Blue Aerospace, Nebula, and Galactic Energy are all developing medium-lift rockets. Some aim to be reusable right away, while others will begin expendable and evolve later. The goal is reliability first\u2014reaching orbit\u2014then competing for contracts for China\u2019s mega-constellations. Those contracts could provide their long-term business foundation.<\/p>\n
Since these are first-time launches, and for some companies the first using liquid propellants, we might see both spectacular successes and failures\u2014it will be fascinating to follow. Right now, Jiuquan is reportedly off-limits to commercial activity during October, likely because of national projects like the Shenzhou-21 mission sending three astronauts to the Tiangong Space Station for six months. They probably want to avoid any commercial mishaps interfering with that timeline, and there might also be lunar-program work underway.<\/p>\n
Mike Gruss \u2013 Why is all this happening right now? Eight or so maiden launches all at once feels like a lot. What happened years ago that led to this moment?<\/p>\n
Andrew Jones \u2013 To answer that, we have to go back to late 2014, when China\u2019s central government looked at what was happening in the U.S. with companies like SpaceX and Planet\u2014commercialization, innovation, cost reduction\u2014and realized it couldn\u2019t rely solely on state-owned Long March rockets, which were expendable and hypergolic. So the government began cautiously opening the sector to private capital.<\/p>\n
A handful of companies soon appeared. Landspace was one, LinkSpace another (now defunct). Many began with small, solid-fuel rockets before moving to liquid propellant, which is more complex but more capable. Early on there wasn\u2019t a clear market\u2014maybe launching CubeSats for universities\u2014but as policy guidelines expanded, more became possible. Funding grew, ambitions expanded, and companies moved toward larger launch vehicles.<\/p>\n
For instance, Galactic Energy and Deep Blue Aerospace started around 2018 with small rockets capable of one or two tons to low Earth orbit, maybe more for Galactic Energy\u2019s Pallas-1. But those are now too small to serve constellation launches for networks like Guowang or Chanfan, which require lofting many satellites at once. These firms are already planning larger successors\u2014Nebula-1 to Nebula-2, Pallas-1 to Pallas-2\u2014and others have moved into the Falcon-9 class. Landspace, for example, has shifted to stainless steel reusable rockets capable of around 17\u201322 tons to LEO. Over the last decade, ambitions, funding, and policy support have all ramped up, leading to today\u2019s surge of activity in both state and commercial sectors.<\/p>\n
Mike Gruss \u2013 You\u2019ve mentioned the money coming into China\u2019s space programs, especially the launch market. There was a big announcement last week, but it feels like we\u2019re hearing about new funding rounds every few weeks. Talk me through what\u2019s happened recently, especially that latest announcement.<\/p>\n
Andrew Jones \u2013 In the last few years, China\u2019s government has declared commercial space to be of strategic importance and worthy of state support. Local and provincial governments have followed suit, competing to attract and fund space companies to spur regional development. As a result, we\u2019re seeing much larger funding rounds\u2014hundreds of millions of dollars rather than tens.<\/p>\n
Two major examples are Space Pioneer and Landspace, each raising over $300 million. Beijing sees national mega-constellations as strategically vital, but building them requires dramatically expanding launch capacity. So, alongside building new spaceports, China is ensuring these launch firms have the capital to develop reliable, high-cadence vehicles to deliver satellites efficiently.<\/p>\n
Mike Gruss \u2013 I want to switch gears and talk about a story mentioned in your newsletter\u2014a sort of cat-and-mouse game between a Maxar satellite and a Chinese satellite. What happened there?<\/p>\n
Andrew Jones \u2013 It\u2019s a fascinating development in the geopolitical space dynamic between China and the U.S. Earlier this year, a Maxar employee posted on LinkedIn that one of their satellites had captured a non-Earth image of Shijian-26, part of a Chinese experimental satellite series used to test new technologies in orbit. The satellite was said to be for remote sensing\u2014Earth-observation testing\u2014but the high-resolution image, taken from roughly 50 kilometers away, was remarkable, especially given how opaque that program is.<\/p>\n
Then, a few months later, Chang Guang Satellite Technology\u2014a quasi-state-owned commercial company operating China\u2019s Jilin-1 Earth-observation fleet\u2014responded by imaging a Maxar satellite, effectively returning the favor. While the U.S. WorldView satellites aren\u2019t classified, the gesture clearly said, \u201cWe can do this too.\u201d It\u2019s another example of the cat-and-mouse dynamic we already see in geostationary orbit, where inspector satellites maneuver near each other. The image quality from both sides was stunning and demonstrated impressive precision. Non-Earth imaging\u2014photographing satellites on orbit\u2014is becoming a new frontier, and the public sharing of these images shows a growing confidence on both sides.<\/p>\n
Mike Gruss \u2013 One more question before we go. You file from Finland, not China. How do you report from where you live\u2014how do you find and verify your stories?<\/p>\n
Andrew Jones \u2013 That\u2019s a good question. I get asked that a lot. The truth is, I just do it\u2014it\u2019s a mix of constant monitoring, verification, and context. I track Chinese state media, companies like CASC, and the commercial space scene, while following what insiders and enthusiasts post on Chinese social media. I cross-reference and verify wherever possible, often using satellite imagery to confirm activity like test preparations.<\/p>\n
Because transparency is limited, much of my work involves adding context. For example, when a company announces a big funding round, I try to explain why it matters and how it fits into the broader strategy. Having followed China\u2019s space sector closely for years helps provide that perspective.<\/p>\n
In some ways, the sector has become more transparent. For example, during crewed missions like Shenzhou-21, China now holds press conferences where officials from the human spaceflight agency share updates. It\u2019s not full transparency\u2014questions are usually pre-approved\u2014but you can glean useful details.<\/p>\n
Another interesting change is the expansion of launch sites\u2014Hainan\u2019s coastal port and the new Eastern Maritime Spaceport in Shandong. These are harder to keep under wraps, and enthusiasts with long-lens cameras often capture preparations, giving us early clues about upcoming tests or launches. On the flip side, it\u2019s become harder to use Chinese social media: you now need verified local accounts, and many enthusiast forums have been shut down. The information environment is evolving quickly.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s much more happening now across many domains, making it a challenge\u2014but also incredibly rewarding\u2014to cover. It\u2019s a fascinating time for China\u2019s space program.<\/p>\n
Mike Gruss \u2013 Andrew, thank you so much. I know our readers and listeners appreciate your reporting. For anyone who\u2019d like to subscribe to Andrew\u2019s China Report, you can find it at SpaceNews.com. This has been Space Minds\u2014thanks for joining us.<\/p>\n
Space Minds is a new audio and video podcast from SpaceNews that focuses on the inspiring leaders, technologies and exciting opportunities in space.<\/p>\n
The weekly podcast features compelling interviews with scientists, founders and experts who love to talk about space, covers the news that has enthusiasts daydreaming, and engages with listeners. Join David Ariosto, Mike Gruss and journalists from the SpaceNews team for new episodes every Thursday.<\/p>\n
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