China Launches Honghu-03 Satellite, First Made in Xiong’an New Area

China achieved a significant dual milestone in its commercial space program on August 19, when the Honghu-03 satellite—the first ever manufactured in Xiong’an New Area—was successfully launched into orbit aboard the Zhuque-3 reusable rocket. The mission marked China’s first-ever landing-leg recovery of an orbital-class rocket first stage, according to Xinhua News.

The satellite, also known as “Xiong’an-1,” lifted off in the early morning from the Dongfeng Commercial Aerospace Innovation Test Zone in Jiuquan. Approximately ten minutes later, it entered its predetermined orbit with all telemetry parameters normal. The rocket’s first stage soft-landed at the Zhuque-3 landing pad in Minqin County, Gansu Province, marking China’s first land recovery of an orbital-class rocket first stage and the first landing-leg recovery of a rocket first stage in the country.

A Star Born in Xiong’an

The Honghu-03 is the first satellite manufactured in Xiong’an New Area, Hebei Province—the national-level development zone established in 2017 as the primary recipient of Beijing’s non-capital functions. Developed by Hongqing Technology, a subsidiary of LandSpace, the satellite was produced on China’s first automated satellite mass-production line, with an automation rate exceeding 70 percent.

“This is not only a landmark event for Xiong’an New Area’s aerospace information industry achieving full closed-loop from ‘R&D and manufacturing’ to ‘in-orbit application,’ but also provides key technical support for China’s satellite internet to move from ‘single-satellite manufacturing’ to ‘batch production,’” said Liu Bo, Vice President of Hebei Academy of Sciences, as reported by the Xiong’an Government website.

The satellite serves as the first test satellite of the Honghu-3 constellation, a mega-constellation plan filed with the International Telecommunication Union in May 2024 that envisions approximately 10,000 low-orbit communication satellites across 160 orbital planes. It is China’s third mega-constellation plan—after the state-backed GW and G60/Qianfan constellations—and the only one led by a private enterprise, as detailed in CLS/科创板日报.

Breakthrough Technologies Onboard

The Honghu-03 integrates dozens of advanced technologies designed to address the core challenges of satellite internet constellation deployment. Among its most notable innovations are three core systems, according to IT之家:

• “Jinwu” (金乌) argon-propellant Hall electric propulsion system—the first in-orbit verification of argon propellant electric propulsion in China. Argon gas costs only tens of yuan per kilogram compared to 4,000-5,000 yuan for xenon, offering higher specific impulse and reduced satellite weight and launch costs.
• “Chiyu” (赤羽) large flexible solar wings—featuring a domestically first linkage unlocking deployment mechanism, with a 17-meter total span when deployed and cost reduction of approximately 60 percent through innovative materials.
• “Baize” (白泽) high-computing-power onboard computer—using thread-level software hardening technology, delivering ten times the computing power of traditional satellite systems.

The satellite also carries China’s first Tbps-level onboard router, enabling inter-satellite data transmission at 10Gbps and 100Gbps rates, as reported by 快科技. This represents a leap from Gbps-level switching capacity, upgrading inter-satellite communication from a “country road” to a “high-speed expressway.”

Reusable Rocket Breakthrough

The Zhuque-3 rocket, developed by LandSpace, is China’s first stainless steel liquid oxygen methane reusable rocket. Standing 76.6 meters tall with a 5.2-meter fairing diameter, it is powered by nine TQ-12B liquid oxygen methane engines on the first stage and has a one-time low Earth orbit capacity of 21.3 tons, with the first stage designed for up to 20 reuses.

This second flight followed the rocket’s December 2025 maiden flight, which successfully reached orbit but failed in first-stage recovery. The successful recovery this time represents a critical validation of the “liquid oxygen methane propellant + stainless steel body + landing-leg vertical recovery” technical pathway, according to 封面新闻 via NetEase.

“The batch production technology verification of Honghu-03, combined with the reusable rocket technology verification of Zhuque-3, demonstrates China’s commercial aerospace synchronous breakthroughs on two main lines: ‘reducing the cost of entering space’ and ‘reducing the cost of building space networks,’” said Ding Jinjun, Secretary-General of the China Aerospace Information and Satellite Internet Innovation Alliance, as quoted by the Xiong’an Government website. “This opens up greater imagination space for rapid constellation deployment, continuous network replenishment, and long-term operations.”

From Single-Satellite to Batch Production

A key aspect of the Honghu-03 mission is its role in validating batch production methods for satellite manufacturing. The satellite was built on China’s first automated satellite mass-production line, where single satellite production cycle has been reduced by approximately 80 percent—from about seven days to roughly 30 hours from integration testing to final assembly and delivery.

“Over 70% of workstations here are automated. Single satellite production cycle is shortened by about 80%. A satellite takes only 30 hours from line integration testing to final assembly and delivery. Six to eight people can support annual production capacity of over 100 flat-panel communication satellites,” said Shi Yaozhong, General Manager of Hongqing Xiong’an, as reported by Xinhua News.

Xiong’an aims to achieve capacity for 300 satellites per year by the end of 2026, with shared satellite manufacturing and testing centers currently being commissioned. The new area has already gathered 69 aerospace information upstream and downstream enterprises and 9 innovation platforms, with China Satellite Network Group serving as the industry’s “chain leader.”

“For Honghu-03, successful orbit insertion is not the end of the mission—the verification journey has just begun. The data obtained from this mission will be used to further optimize product performance,” said Wan Jun, Chairman of Hongqing Technology, in comments carried by Xinhua News.

What’s Next

The Honghu-3 constellation plans to deploy approximately 5,000 satellites by 2030 for global coverage, with full constellation completion targeted for 2035. LandSpace plans to re-fly the recovered first stage within six months, continuing to build a “launch-recover-inspect-reuse” closed-loop system.

Industry observers note that the “rocket-satellite integration” model—with Hongqing Technology building satellites and LandSpace providing reusable launch services—mirrors SpaceX’s approach with Starlink and Falcon 9. As China’s commercial aerospace sector accelerates, the successful validation of both batch satellite production and reusable rocket recovery positions the country to compete more aggressively in the global race for low-orbit satellite internet infrastructure.

With the Honghu-03 now in orbit, the focus shifts to the data it will transmit back over the coming months—data that will inform the next generation of satellite design and help determine whether China’s ambitious mega-constellation plans can be realized on schedule.