Branding in Space!
And a happy early Chinese Aerospace Day!
Welcome back to China NewSpace, your weekly look into the Chinese private space industry. If you haven’t subscribed yet, you can do so here.
The space industry isn’t all about rockets and satellites (well mostly it is), but it also touches on nearly every aspect of an economy. This issue of China NewSpace is about branding; first we’ll look at how well Chinese rockets brands are doing at gaining media recognition, and later on we’ll see how car companies and e-commerce are getting in on the action.
But first: Aerospace Day
Entirely accidentally, I started this newsletter at the perfect time, because this coming Friday is China’s national Aerospace Day. China only started celebrating Aerospace Day in 2016, and it’s held on April 24 to commemorate the launch of China’s first satellite, Dongfanghong-1, which was on April 24, 1970.
Apparently every year there is an official poster, and last year’s poster was amazing:
I haven’t seen this year’s poster yet, but you can see previous years here.
Translation
Our featured translation this week comes from the Liaowang Institute, a think tank affiliated with state-run news agency Xinhua.
This is a report that examines the strength of Chinese private rocket brands as measured by mentions in the media. The thirteen companies looked at in the report are JZYJ, AAEngine, LandSpace, LinkSpace, Space Transportation, SMotor, Deep Blue Aerospace, iSpace, Galaxy Energy, Space Trek, OneSpace, Aerospace Propulsion, and Zhongke Aerospace.
Unsurprisingly, the (relatively) older companies that have conducted more tests are mentioned more in the media, but it was striking to me how sharply they’re divided into two tiers:
“According to the distribution of total scores, the brand recognition and influence of the thirteen private rocket companies are clearly differentiated. The four brands which were established relatively early, LandSpace, iSpace, OneSpace, and LinkSpace, scored higher on most indicators compared with their competitors.”
SpaceX has a stronger brand presence than domestic companies:
“From the comparison of the number of mentions in domestic mainstream media and media platforms, we can see that although they come from abroad, the level of attention and influence of ‘Falcon’ far exceed that of domestic commercial rocket brands. As an aerospace brand that is a global phenomenon, ‘Falcon’ and ‘SpaceX’ are exemplary cases for aerospace companies to build their own brands.”
And the report further breaks down which type of media is focusing more on which company:
“Judging from the scores of various indicators and the actual content of mentions, LandSpace has the highest awareness and influence among the two sub-groups of government media and industry media, iSpace has the highest public awareness and influence, and LinkSpace is continuously mentioned by overseas public and media due to its status as a ‘First Company.’”
Some of the findings in this report are fascinating, but one of the issues I have with it is about timing. It claims that media outside of China has focused more on LandSpace than iSpace, but during the year that was surveyed iSpace became the first private Chinese rocket to reach orbit, so it would have been good to see the data broken down over time.
You can check out the full report here.
Interesting Links
The Summer of Space Cars
Not everyone has the cash to buy a rocket or satellite, but sponsorships are one way that companies are using the allure of space to give their brands a boost. China has now had two car companies sponsor rocket launches.
These sponsorships really highlight the interconnections between the state and private industry; private luxury SUV brand WEY sponsored a flight of a rocket made by CALT (a subsidiary of state-owned aerospace company CASC) last June, and state-owned auto manufacturer Changan sponsored a flight of private rocket company iSpace last July.
These were also both firsts; the CALT launch was China’s first launch from sea (it was conducted from a civilian cargo vessel), and the iSpace launch was China’s first successful launch of a payload to orbit.
WEY and CASC have also opened a joint research center, although I’m not sure how much overlap there is between automotive and aerospace engineering. Apparently, “Liu Yanzhao, executive vice president of WEY brand, said that based on the current exterior design, WEY will draw inspiration from aerospace aerodynamics technology to improve its cars’ fuel economy and driving experience with a lower drag coefficient.” So it sounds to me like it’s mostly a one-way technology transfer.
Taking a cue from Elon Musk, a model of a Changan SUV was on board the iSpace flight (along with an empty bottle of liquor for some reason). Andrew Jones over at SpaceNews tweeted out a video, but if there is a better picture of it than this Global Times tweet, then I haven’t been able to find one. Please send me a link if you have one!
Taobao Rocket
Rocket manufacturers themselves are finding novel ways to get attention. On April 1, rocket maker ExPace sold a rocket on e-commerce site Taobao and livestreamed it, and it wasn’t even an April Fools joke. The rocket sold to Chang Guang Satellite Technology for over five million dollars, including the right to decide the colors of the rocket and control the launch.
I really like this article on the sale, in particular because it has some good pictures and also focuses on the fact that the rocket is from Wuhan. But when it calls ExPace Technology “the country’s first commercial rocket manufacturer,” take it with a grain of salt, because ExPace is a subsidiary of CASIC, a State-Owned Enterprise (SOE).
This underscores the importance of terminology; an SOE might be commercial, since it’s trying to make money, but it’s certainly not private. Presumably Sixth Tone (one of my favorite Chinese news sites in English), doesn’t make that distinction because, as far as I know, they are owned by the city of Shanghai.
This newsletter is about private space companies, but I’ll be touching on the SOEs when they intersect with private companies, like carrying a private satellite into orbit or selling a rocket on Taobao.
News Roundup
Last week
April 13: Space Pioneer raised $14 Million to develop a “30-ton-thrust HCP liquid engine named Tianhuo-3.” (Source: Andrew Jones, SpaceNews)
April 20: The NDRC clarified that satellite internet is included in “New Infrastructure.” (Source: Xu Yuenai, Asia Times)
Next week
24 April: China’s Aerospace Day
Thanks to ChinAI
I have long been a fan of Oxford scholar Jeffrey Ding’s amazing newsletter on AI in China, called ChinaAI where he brings Chinese-language sources on AI in China to an English-speaking audience. His work inspired me to create my own newsletter, and you should check his out here.
Until next time
My name is Cory Fitz and I write the China NewSpace newsletter. To better understand China’s young and rapidly growing private space industry, China NewSpace brings you translations of topical Chinese-language blog posts, articles, etc., as well as a roundup of interesting links and relevant news.
If you have any comments for me, feel free to contact me at chinanewspace@gmail.com
You can also find me on Twitter at @cory_fitz