An aerial view of Beijing "Rocket Street" project Photo: Screenshot if Beijing Economic Technological Development Area's official WeChat account

The Beijing "Rocket Street" project has been completed, entering the handover and commissioning phase, according to a post by the Beijing Economic Technological Development Area (Beijing E-Town) seen on its WeChat account on Thursday. 

The project is set to become the country's first experimental research-and-production base for commercial aerospace development.

Located in Yizhuang in southeastern Beijing, the "Rocket Street" project has a total floor area of 145,000 square meters. It is planned to include four major functional zones, covering generic technology platform, an innovation center, high-end manufacturing center and exhibition and mission control center.

The project will be able to provide a dozen shared services, including rocket and satellite R&D and testing, intelligent manufacturing, and integrated space-air-ground mission control, precisely matching the full industrial-chain needs of commercial spaceflight development, the post said.

Notably, the innovation center and the high-end manufacturing center of the project are not conventional workshops, but specialized heavy-duty workshop boasting a clear height of 7.9 meters with a load-bearing capacity of 3 tons on the first floor, while floors above the second level have a clear height of 5.4 meters and a load-bearing capacity of 1 ton. 

These specifications are designed to meet the research and production requirements of large aerospace systems such as rockets, supportive enterprises engaged in system design, key components, control systems, satellite terminal manufacturing, as well as related R&D, manufacturing and office functions, the post read. 

Commercial aerospace is a pillar industry in Beijing E-Town, which has already attracted more than 180 related enterprises. The concentration of commercial rocket companies accounts for 75 percent of the national total, forming a complete industrial chain covering launch vehicles, satellite manufacturing, aerospace new materials, and space technology applications.

Global Times