中国为探索太空的私企提供更多机会

China will offer more opportunities for private companies to participate in space exploration, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) said on June 8.

Commercial aerospace programs have been successfully carried out in low Earth orbit (LEO), but commercial programs into deep space still face challenges, said CNSA Secretary-General Tian Yulong at the global Space Exploration Conference. 

More support should be given to enterprises to encourage commercial space exploration projects, he said.

"In deep space exploration, we need to provide a favorable environment for small and medium-sized enterprises," Tian emphasized.

Encouraging private investment in space exploration has long been a challenge for countries worldwide, as space exploration programs are mostly financed and operated by government bodies and institutions. However, enthusiasm among private enterprises to get involved with space exploration is growing.

According to Tian, many private Chinese companies are keen to get involved with exploring the stars. In the last two years, more than 10 firms have been engaged in micro-satellite research and development, and around 100 have been working on the development and use of satellite LEO data. 

And many companies have thrown themselves into promoting the business possibilities of aerospace technology, said Tian.

"The CNSA is working on enabling enterprises to become the main force of technical innovation by creating favorable laws and policies," he added.