Free shipping to space, is the commercial satellite market approaching? (Package sales of satellite and launch services)

Has it been planted with grass! “” Can this satellite hold things? “” Can it be returned within 7 days without reason

Recently, the first batch of commercial satellites in China have been successfully launched on the Taobao platform, and their topic has become a hot topic, attracting widespread attention. It is reported that this is a commercial satellite produced by the first satellite factory in China. For the first time in the world, space satellites are sold to the public through e-commerce platforms.

What is the development status of China’s satellite industry? Does the sale of real satellites in this live broadcast indicate that the once unattainable stars in the sky will enter the homes of ordinary people?

Hardcore: 50% off for satellite sales, free shipping for the entire universe

On the evening of March 31st, Luo Yonghao officially launched the sale of satellites in his Taobao live broadcast room. After the commercial 1U CubeSat satellite of Jiutian MSI was put on the shelves, Luo Yonghao joked that it was the most expensive product he had ever sold in his live broadcast room, and it included postal delivery. The original price of the commercial 1U cube satellite was 2 million yuan, including a satellite purchase fee of 1 million yuan and a launch service fee of 1 million yuan. The live broadcast room was directly reduced by 1 million yuan, and “all space free shipping” was successfully purchased by a mysterious buyer, setting a precedent for physical satellite transactions since e-commerce live broadcasts.

It is reported that the volume of the 1U cubic star sold is 10cm × 10cm × 10cm, produced by Jiutian MSI Tangshan Satellite Factory. A 1U CubeSat is a low-cost microsatellite that adopts internationally recognized standards and can be used for aerospace scientific research and education in universities. It has the characteristics of low cost, high functional density, and short development cycle, and can achieve monitoring of the ocean, atmospheric environment, ships, etc; Can be used in space imaging, communication, atmospheric research, new technology testing platforms, and other fields.

Before our satellite product entered the live broadcast room of Luo Yonghao, a Singaporean customer had already taken a picture of our space selfie payload product. Due to the large amount of the full payment, they paid a deposit of 66600 yuan that night and paid the full amount afterwards, “said Xie Tao, founder and CEO of Jiutian MSI.

Along with it is a service called “Space Selfie”, which can display user uploaded images after the satellite enters space and send back a “Space Selfie” of the display screen and space background to the user.

It is reported that as satellites are special commodities, users need to further confirm their specific needs with the satellite service provider after placing an order, finalize the contract details, and then arrange for launch. If everything goes smoothly, the satellite can be launched and put into orbit in about six months at the earliest.

In the view of aerospace science popularization expert Wang Junyi, live streaming sales of satellites have strong symbolic significance. In addition to sales, it is more important to promote science popularization satellite knowledge to the public and cultivate market demand.

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Cost Reduction: Lowering the Price of Satellites

With the development of China’s satellite Internet industry, commercial satellites will be used more widely. Many netizens have asked whether placing orders for satellites on Taobao in the future will be as simple and convenient as purchasing daily necessities?

In Luo Yonghao’s live broadcast room, the satellite, originally priced at 2 million yuan, was discounted by 50%, which can be described as a “huge discount”. But if we really want to lower the satellite price, it’s not as simple as the anchor talking about discounted prices. Experts say that the current cost of launching commercial satellites in China is about 10 million yuan, which is still relatively high compared to mature international markets. Xie Tao analyzed that generally speaking, to launch a satellite into space, the majority of the cost is spent on research, production, and launch, with a ratio of approximately 2:1 between the two. By innovating business models such as shared satellites, the cost threshold for satellite development and launch can be reduced to millions of yuan in scale.

Reusable launch vehicles can help reduce launch costs, and the aerospace industry has already begun exploring them. It is reported that another satellite product sold this time is called the “Space Shuttle”, which supports collaborative operations of multiple payloads such as remote sensing, communication, navigation, and scientific exploration, achieving multi-purpose use on one satellite.

Regarding how to reduce the cost of satellite development and production itself, Xie Tao believes that one is to achieve modular and mass production of satellites, and to find alternatives to aerospace grade components from industries with higher marketization. For example, some mature components in the automotive industry, after screening, modification, reinforcement, and testing, can also meet the performance requirements of commercial satellites. The second is to independently develop core components and accelerate the pace of independent innovation for those bottleneck and high cost components.

Xie Tao stated that the first phase of the Tangshan Satellite Factory will be put into operation this year, solving the problem of “burning money for launching satellites”. By optimizing the development process of satellites, replacing core single machines with domestic ones, and developing key technologies, satellites will be produced like cars, and it is expected to reduce domestic satellite prices by 60% within a few years. At the same time, commercial space launches are also becoming more active, which will help reduce the cost of satellite use.

Industry: Continuous improvement of satellite communication network

The domestic commercial satellite market has a scale of billions. Behind the accelerated development of commercial satellites, China’s constantly improving satellite Internet construction is indispensable.

In recent days, the first application test of LEO satellite Internet in remote areas of China was conducted in the deep mountains of Yulong County, Lijiang, Yunnan Province. The information of the power grid equipment being inspected, on-site videos, and power control instructions were transmitted back to the monitoring center 500 kilometers away in real-time and stably without a communication base station. Relying on a laptop sized device, it received satellite signals from China’s first low orbit experimental constellation.

Since it was officially incorporated into the new infrastructure in 2020, in just three years, China’s satellite Internet construction has achieved an important breakthrough. A single satellite has become a networked constellation, and the duration of video calls using satellites has increased from three minutes to over half an hour. It can also empower industry or combine with the field of autonomous driving to enhance vehicle perception capabilities.

Liu Tun, a senior analyst of CCID Research Institute of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, said that the layout of satellite Internet and the formation of a globally covered and seamlessly connected heaven and earth integrated information network are important measures to complete China’s high-speed ubiquitous, integrated, interconnected, efficient and secure information infrastructure.

With the continuous maturity of satellite Internet technology, the application scenarios are constantly expanded, driving the accelerated growth of related industries. Data shows that since 2020, the scale of new registrations of satellite related enterprises in China has rapidly expanded, and in 2022, the new increment exceeded 30000 for the first time. In the first three months of this year, China added 9200 satellite related enterprises, involving various links in the industrial chain such as metal materials, ground equipment manufacturing, and mobile operations.

Wang Junyi stated that from the deployment of various countries, in less than 10 years, satellites in low Earth orbit will be scattered everywhere. Commercial satellite factories can produce large quantities, low costs, and short production cycles of commercial microsatellites, as well as provide convenient satellite supply channels, winning valuable time for China in the competition for space and low Earth orbit.

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Comment: Initial Exploration in the Space Business Field

Recently, the news of “the first batch of domestically produced commercial satellites being launched on Taobao, with discounted prices starting at 2 million yuan” has become a hot topic.

Online shopping satellites are a new thing. In the past, there were already many applications of aerospace technology in people’s lives. Products or services commonly used by people, such as diapers, instant noodles and vegetable packs, dried fruits, sports shoes, satellite TV, and satellite navigation, are products that incorporate high-end aerospace technology achievements such as liquid gas separation, food dehydration, and satellite communication into daily life. The online shopping of the entire satellite obviously has a more special significance, indicating that commercial satellites may enter the homes of ordinary people in the future.

Of course, the high starting price of 2 million yuan sets satellites apart from ordinary Taobao products. Companies choosing to list satellites on Taobao may not only be for sales, but also for simple gimmicks. From a deeper perspective, online shopping for satellites may further stimulate the enthusiasm of all citizens for space exploration, expand the vast space for private capital to enter space, and inject more vitality and momentum into the development of the space industry.

Space exploration needs to play the role of a “national project” as a guiding force, and at the same time, the entry of private capital is also necessary to inject more vitality into space exploration. Private capital enters the aerospace industry such as commercial satellites, commercial rockets, space stations, and manned spaceflight, fully utilizing the abundant new resources in the vast universe and exploring markets.

Today’s online shopping satellite may be the first trial of the future space commercial stars and the sea.

Organized by Zhang Liya