Mianyang city in Sichuan province is systematically developing its commercial aerospace industry, a sector known for high technology, substantial investment, and long cycles. The city provides comprehensive support throughout the entire corporate lifecycle, focusing on the full chain of "rockets, satellites, equipment, and data." It moves from simply providing financial support to creating market-driven scenarios, pushing the industry from solving individual problems towards an ecosystem-based development.
Mianyang has integrated the commercial aerospace industry into its broader "587+" industrial system, mapping out a detailed aerospace industry chain. The strategy not only targets the four key areas of "rockets, satellites, equipment, and data" but also defines a differentiated regional layout. Fucheng District focuses on rocket engine manufacturing, Youxian District on manned spacecraft, Beichuan County on the general aviation industry, the Science and Technology City New Area on satellite applications, and the Economic Development Zone on aviation electronic components R&D.
To address the challenges of tech startups, Mianyang has moved away from blanket subsidies. The Mianyang Science and Technology City New Area implements a model of "one industrial park + one service team + N service specialists" to provide dedicated support. Sichuan Star Air Navigation Technology Co., Ltd. is a prime example of this nurturing mechanism. When the company first settled in Mianyang, its team started with just a few blueprints, two prototypes, and a handful of key technical personnel. After several years of development, the company won third prize in the national finals of the 2026 "Create and Win the Future" Entrepreneurship Competition. "I chose to stay here because the party members and cadres in Mianyang understand the industry and the enterprises. They come into our workshops and factories to help us calculate costs and find markets," said Li Jun, General Manager of Star Air Navigation.
The improvement in service efficiency is supported by institutional innovation. For the aerospace industry, getting innovative products out of the lab and into real-world applications is crucial. In March of this year, a request list from Mianyang Tianyi Space Technology Co., Ltd. landed on the desk of the Mianyang Science and Technology City Management Committee. The company faced insufficient application scenarios for commercial satellite data and needed help promoting its "Sky-Ground Integrated" geological hazard screening platform. In response, the Third Department of Science and Industry of the Mianyang Science and Technology City quickly coordinated with multiple departments, moving the problem-solving process directly to the application front line. The local government rapidly expanded the business applications of SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) satellites in areas like geological disaster monitoring and national land mapping. Simultaneously, it established a municipal-level aerospace application scenario library, regularly publishing scenario and demand lists to help local innovative products gain priority application within Sichuan province.
Inside the control center of Mianyang Tianyi Space, a large screen displays the trajectories of several in-orbit commercial radar remote sensing satellites, outlining a dynamic "space map." "'Fucheng-1' is a SAR satellite with the unique ability to see through clouds and rain and provide all-weather imaging. It can accurately capture even millimeter-level surface deformations, making it particularly useful for the cloudy and rainy western mountainous regions," said Zhang Cheng, the company's Deputy General Manager. Today, this "data application technology solution" has been replicated in areas like Dachuan District of Dazhou and Yanjiang District of Ziyang. Its application scenarios have expanded from monitoring single building safety to a wide range of fields, including natural resource surveys, geological hazard隐患排查, and railway safety.
Transforming from a "single star" to a "starry sky," and from solving problems for individual companies to building a full-chain industrial ecosystem, Mianyang's commercial aerospace development momentum is accelerating. In the first half of 2026, Mianyang's aerospace industry scale reached 8.477 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 12.26%. Within this, the commercial aerospace sector alone exceeded 2.245 billion yuan, growing 18.1% year-on-year.
Comments