CHINA is preparing to operationalize its first offshore platform designed for launching and recovering reusable liquid-propellant rockets, a strategic move aimed at significantly reducing space access costs and advancing its commercial space capabilities.

Located at the Oriental Aerospace Port in Haiyang in Shandong Province, China’s sole commercial maritime launch base, this new test facility is in its final construction phase.

It is scheduled to be ready for trial operation starting about Feb. 5, ahead of the country’s first maritime launch and recovery attempt of a commercial liquid rocket, which is expected to take place around the Chinese New Year holiday, according to a video report by China Media Group.

This move aligns with China’s strategy to further develop its space industry and aims to address a core challenge in commercial spaceflight — achieving affordable, frequent access to orbit through rocket reusability, the report noted.

The Haiyang Oriental Aerospace Port has a strong track record, having so far successfully conducted 22 sea launches that have carried 137 satellites into orbit.

However, these missions all utilized solid-fuel rockets, valued for their mobility and flexibility but limited by lower payload capacity and expendability.

The new platform targets liquid rockets that offer greater lift capability and, critically, reusability, which is a fundamental economic driver for scalable satellite constellation deployment and a central development direction for China’s commercial launch industry, the report said.

The platform is part of a comprehensively planned zone featuring supporting facilities such as storage areas for liquid oxygen, liquid nitrogen, kerosene and methane, which will handle propellant loading, pressurization and pipeline purging for next-generation liquid rocket operations.

It forms a key node in Shandong’s expanding aerospace ecosystem, which now spans launch services, rocket manufacturing and satellite applications across cities in this province, including Yantai, Jinan and Qingdao.(Xinhua)