Hainan International Commercial Aerospace Launch Co., Ltd., or HICAL, is a Chinese state-owned company that operates the Wenchang Commercial Space Launch Site, China's first commercial spaceport. Established in 2022, HICAL is the first commercially incorporated company in China to independently own and manage a spaceport.
On July 6, 2022, a groundbreaking ceremony was held for the Wenchang Commercial Space Launch Site, which is China's first commercial space launch complex, and which is fully funded, constructed and operated by HICAL.[3] Launch Complex 1 was completed in December 2023 and Launch Complex 2 is expected to be completed in 2024.[4][3]
The Wenchang Commercial Space Launch Site (Chinese:文昌商业航天发射场), located at Wenchang, Hainan, is China's first commercial space launch site, and 5th space launch site. The launch site started construction in July 2022, and is expected to be put into service in 2024.[5]
The Wenchang Commercial Space Launch Site is built and operated by HICAL, a joint venture of the Hainan government and three state-owned conglomerates. In China, a commercial space center is a site owned by an entity other than the Government or Military.[6]
Construction of the site started in July 2022, and the launch complex one was finished on Dec 29, 2023.[5][7] As of April 2024, the second pad is set to be finished by the end of May, with 19 different rockets from nine companies expected to launch using LC-2.[8]
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