''GBS No. 5'' and ''GBS No. 1 (03)" Successfully Launch Marking the New chapter of Commercial Aerospace

Dec. 9, 2021

On 7 December 2021, ''Golden Bauhinia Satellite No. 5'' and ''Golden Bauhinia Satellite No. 1 (03) were successfully launched by the Galactic Energy Ceres-1 (Y2) carrier rocket, and they had entered their predetermined orbits and are currently operating normally in orbits.

The ''Golden Bauhinia Satellite No. 5'' and ''Golden Bauhinia Satellite No. 1 (03) are both optical remote sensing satellites, of which, the ''Golden Bauhinia Satellite No. 5'' is equipped with an industrial-grade optical camera and micro-propulsion system for low-cost on-orbit verification, and the high-function density satellite platforms which composed of commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS). It also provides technical exploration and testing for the early phase of the Golden Bauhinia Constellation project.

Hong Kong Aerospace Technology Group Limited (HKATG;1725) plans to explore into optical and synthetic aperture radar remote sensing satellite constellation system, which is formed by an on-orbit satellite cluster, in the hope to build a smart city, monitoring the environment, managing energy and natural resources, and undertake marine and disaster emergency management.

The Group had previously launched ''Golden Bauhinia Satellite No. 1 (01)", ''Golden Bauhinia Satellite No. 1 (02)'' and ''Golden Bauhinia Satellite No. 2"; the launch of the ''Golden Bauhinia Satellite No. 5'' and ''Golden Bauhinia Satellite No. 1 (03)" marks the third successful launch of the "Golden Bauhinia Constellation" in this year, representing a successful conclusion to this year's mission.

2021 is known as the "year of the mega constellation", there are 4 mega communication constellations each consisting of over 4,000 satellites. According to data published in January 2021, there are 3,372 active artificial satellites orbiting the Earth, of which 405 belong to China, came second to the United States. And the total number of active artificial satellites orbiting the Earth soared to 4550 in September 2021.

On December 5, CNN published a headline saying, "China is developing space capabilities at 'twice the rate' of US", as Gen. David Thompson, vice head of space operations for the US Space Force believes that China may overtake the United States in terms of space capabilities by the end of the decade.

As of September 2021, there are a total of 2,788 operating satellites belonging to the U.S and up to 2359 are commercial satellites, of which 1,660 belong to Elon Mask's Starlink. It is no exaggeration to say that commercial aerospace is the biggest driving force for the development of the global aerospace horizon.

While Space X is drawing global attention, China's commercial aerospace market is also booming. China's commercial aerospace industry has developed rapidly driven by several new aerospace companies; their emergence has led to the opening up of China's aerospace ecosystem, and attracting many outstanding international companies, and introducing China's civil aerospace industry into the international market.

Among them, HKATG which Bloomberg has hailed as the "mini Space X" is Hong Kong's first aerospace enterprise with satellite manufacturing, launching, and testing capability, and able to provide application data for the entire process and produce end products to form a one-stop service capability. HKATG is set to fill up the regional gap in the commercial aerospace industry, promote the marketization of aerospace technology, and fulfill the needs of aerospace commercialization and investors of the region.

The Group has successfully launched five satellites in 2021, through the launch of satellites in small batches, HKATG realises the on-orbit verification of miniaturized aerospace systems, laying the foundation for next year's business constellation development. Perhaps most importantly, the Group will push Hong Kong's commercial aerospace development to a new level by redefining Hong Kong's positioning on re-industrialization, and injecting new vitality into mainland China's commercial aerospace development.