Wang Yang, the "Equalizer of Satellite Access": Transforming Satellites from "National Strategic Assets" to "Common Tools for the People"
On September 24, 2025, in the waters near Rizhao, Shandong, a man watched excitedly as a rocket carrying the sixth orbital satellites of the Geely Constellation in its fairing lifted off from the sea level.
As the satellites successfully entered their predetermined orbits, the launch mission was completed successfully, and the first phase of the Geely Constellation network was officially established. From now on, 20 million users worldwide (including 5 million high - frequency users and 15 million medium - and low - frequency users) can truly achieve real - time satellite communication connections.
This man is Wang Yang, the founder and CEO of Space Time and Navigation Co., Ltd., and also a "key figure" in China's commercial space industry.
Twelve years ago, driven by the romantic passion for exploring the universe, he left his job in the public sector and founded OcomSpace, the first commercial space company in China, thus embarking on his real journey into the vast universe. Four years later, the "Jiading - 1" satellite successfully entered orbit. It was a microsatellite weighing less than 100 kilograms, with almost all its core components self - developed. This marked China's breakthrough from 0 to 1 in the commercial space industry and further strengthened Wang Yang's original intention of entrepreneurship.
In April 2018, Wang Yang became the executive director of Shanghai Gesi Information Technology Co., Ltd. and also served as the general manager of its parent company, Shanghai Zhongke Chenxin Satellite Technology Co., Ltd. At that time, there were two key tasks: one was to establish the mass - production capacity of satellites from scratch, and the other was to build an upstream supply chain system suitable for commercial satellites from scratch. These tasks were also related to the constellation later known as G60.
Different from the traditional perception of the space industry, Wang Yang is not just an idealist. His experience at Huawei made him realize the importance of marketization at an early stage.
He has a consistent belief, which is an extension of Ren Zhengfei's classic statement at Huawei - "Look up at the stars and lay eggs along the way." Commercial space is not just about building satellites to form a "Starlink" but making satellites accessible to everyone.
This might be the most likely moment for China's commercial space industry to overtake others on a curve.
The Path to Breakthrough for Chinese Private "Starlink" Entrepreneurs
In the 1990s, an American company, Iridium, planned to launch 66 artificial satellites for global mobile communication. The plan took 12 years and cost more than $5 billion. However, in that era, it was an extremely expensive project. An Iridium phone cost more than $3,000, and the call cost was as high as $3 - $8 per minute. This pioneering exploration, which was out of step with the times, ultimately ended in a tragic failure. In 2000, Iridium went bankrupt.
Many years later, the spirit of Iridium was reborn in another way.
In May 2019, at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, SpaceX launched the first batch of 60 satellites of the "Starlink" project into orbit using a Falcon 9 rocket.
An invisible global war for satellite internet began.
At the same time, in the Chinese market, Wang Yang, who had just received investment from Li Shufu, officially initiated the concept of the Geely Constellation.
In fact, compared with Starlink, Space Time and Navigation Co., Ltd. is more like the "Chinese version of Iridium." However, it holds better cards and has a more accurate understanding of the market than Iridium did.
High cost has always been the most fatal problem in commercial space, which was the root cause of Iridium's failure as a pioneer.
In the era of Space Time and Navigation Co., Ltd., the primary task is to solve the problems of low cost and high reliability.
In Wang Yang's exploration of commercial space, there is a person who shares his vision, Li Shufu. Geely provides more than just vehicle - end applications for Space Time and Navigation Co., Ltd. It offers strong support from the manufacturing end. Relying on Geely, Space Time and Navigation Co., Ltd. borrowed the mass - production model of the automotive industry and built a satellite super - factory in Taizhou, Zhejiang. This is the world's first satellite mass - production factory that deeply integrates aerospace and automotive manufacturing capabilities.
In the innovative exploration of promoting the mass - production AIT (Assembly, Integration, and Testing) of satellites, three breakthroughs have been achieved: standardization, automation, and supply - chain integration. As early as 2014, Wang Yang led his team to conduct full - stack self - research on the on - board payloads and all platform electronics units of the "Jiading - 1" satellite. They completed the first domestic mass - production delivery of measurement and transmission units for the Yaogan - 30 constellation and the delivery of RDSS payloads for Beidou satellites. In the design stage, they replaced a large number of expensive aerospace - grade components with automotive - grade components, an attempt that could subvert the traditional aerospace industry chain. This has become a reality through the high - reliability in - orbit operation of hundreds of self - developed units by Wang Yang's team over the past decade. Satellites with low cost, high reliability, and batch delivery have become a reality.
On the one hand, short - cycle, low - cost, and batch production can speed up industrial planning. On the other hand, it is necessary to quickly find feasible commercialization scenarios.
The recent completion of the first - phase deployment of the Geely Constellation is a landmark start. It means that China's commercial space industry can not only send satellites into space to form a constellation network but also make satellite technology truly serve the public.
This approach, which is closely tied to the market and surpasses the development speed of the global private commercial space industry, is related to its complex genes, integrating the aerospace, automotive, and communication industries. Wang Yang himself once compared Space Time and Navigation Co., Ltd. to a team that may not have the most abundant funds but definitely knows best how to transform aerospace technology into commercial value.
As early as September 2023, the mass - produced version of the ZEEKR 001 FR was equipped with the satellite communication technology of Space Time and Navigation Co., Ltd. when it was launched. For the industry, this was the first vehicle - grade mass - production application of aerospace technology, which was of epoch - making significance. Car owners can still make satellite calls and receive alarm messages via satellite when there is no ground signal. This technology is now widely used in many models of ZEEKR, Lynk & Co, and Geely Galaxy, facilitating people's travel.
It is understood that the satellite applications of Space Time and Navigation Co., Ltd. are not limited to satellite communication but also include high - precision positioning services for assisted driving. Through the low - orbit navigation augmentation system and its own ground - based data station network covering the whole country, the positioning accuracy can reach the centimeter level, far exceeding that of the traditional GPS system. This ability creates favorable conditions for the large - scale implementation of autonomous driving. Combined with satellite communication, smart cars can also operate stably in remote areas with weak ground network signals.
In July 2025, Space Time and Navigation Co., Ltd. reached a strategic cooperation with Caocao Chuxing to provide satellite communication and high - precision positioning services for autonomous driving fleets. This means that China's in - vehicle satellite communication is truly moving towards widespread adoption.
Here, a blueprint for building an integrated space - ground technology and service system is taking shape under the joint efforts of Wang Yang and Space Time and Navigation Co., Ltd.
Finding a Feasible Business Model for China's Commercial Space Industry
Wang Yang has a clear mind when it comes to finding a feasible path for China's commercial space industry. "To a certain extent, in the process of running a business, the business model is more important than high - tech because the former is a prerequisite for a company to stand firm, and this is also true for commercial space companies."
This is related to Wang Yang's several key work experiences. His career began in two very different worlds: the battlefield at Huawei and the laboratory at the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
In 2004, he joined Huawei, avoiding the internet boom. He witnessed the iteration of the communication industry from 2G to 3G and worked on the front line, which made him deeply understand that "technology must be directed towards market applications."
The laboratory at the Chinese Academy of Sciences connected him closely with scientific research and the national space strategy. When he was at the Shanghai Engineering Center for Microsatellites of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wang Yang went through the entire process from 0 to 1 in all R & D projects, from the satellite itself in the space segment to the test system in the ground segment and the satellite AIT process. This not only tempered his own abilities but also made him understand the needs within the system better. He developed a low - orbit satellite system that is complementary to the national satellite system. "The satellite application services provided by Space Time and Navigation Co., Ltd. are an organic part of the national strategic infrastructure, designed in a coordinated manner, compatible, and complementary in services."
It was this experience that enabled Wang Yang to handle large - scale and highly complex projects when managing a private company to build a constellation later. The space industry has always been a systematic project, and Wang Yang, who has participated in many complex projects, understands this well. As the helmsman and soul of the company, he directly assembled a dream team to build a private "Starlink."
For example, among the 18 founding members, 14 are engineers, with an average of 15 years of experience in the space field. It is no exaggeration to say that these people have participated in 40 out of more than a hundred important satellite models in China, including national - level projects such as Beidou Phase II/III, Yaogan - 30, and the Fengyun series of meteorological satellites. The CTO was the person in charge of the payload of the Beidou - III satellite, the chief designer of the Jiading - 1 satellite, and the chief engineer was the chief designer of the Shanghai microsatellite remote - sensing model.
While having the scientific research strength to explore the universe, Wang Yang also has a down - to - earth attitude. This ensures that his dream of exploring the universe is not just a fantasy. In the past few years, Wang Yang has focused on breaking through the satellite mass - production capacity, which he believes is the gap between China's commercial space industry and international giants. In 2021, Space Time and Navigation Co., Ltd. built China's first commercial satellite super - factory in Taizhou, with the goal of producing one satellite per day. While solving the production capacity problem, it has also reduced the satellite manufacturing cost by an order of magnitude. Moreover, due to the use of a flexible production line, it can support the mass - production of multiple satellite models simultaneously.
With everything in place, in the past two years, Space Time and Navigation Co., Ltd., with sufficient strength, clear goals, and a well - defined path, has accelerated its development. It has carried out a continuous and high - frequency launch plan:
On February 3, 2024: At the Xichang Satellite Launch Center, Space Time and Navigation Co., Ltd. successfully launched the second - orbital satellites of the Geely Constellation into the predetermined orbit using a Long March 2C rocket in a "one - rocket - eleven - satellites" configuration. On September 6 of the same year: At the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, using a Long March 6 rocket in a "one - rocket - ten - satellites" configuration, it successfully launched the satellites in the third orbital plane of the Geely Constellation. On August 9, 2025: Near the waters of Rizhao, Shandong, using a Jielong - 3 rocket in a "one - rocket - eleven - satellites" configuration, it successfully launched the fourth - orbital satellites of the Geely Constellation. Just one month later, near the waters of Rizhao, Shandong, it again used a Jielong - 3 rocket in a "one - rocket - eleven - satellites" configuration to successfully launch the fifth - orbital satellites of the Geely Constellation.
Now, everything is developing according to Wang Yang's original plan. On September 24, 2025, this historic moment finally arrived - Space Time and Navigation Co., Ltd. completed the first - phase deployment of the Geely Constellation and will provide commercial satellite IoT communication services to global users.
From this point on, a more magnificent journey officially begins.
Opening the Era of Global Large - Scale Application of Chinese - Style Commercial Space
In Wang Yang's view, a truly successful commercial space narrative must serve people.
Space Time and Navigation Co., Ltd. defines its constellation as a global low - orbit satellite IoT constellation. The plan is to first serve transportation scenarios such as intelligent connected vehicles and Robotaxis and then expand to multiple application scenarios in marine fisheries, engineering machinery, transportation and logistics, low - altitude flight, emergency communication, etc. This is also a reference sample for China's commercial space industry. Different from the large - scale satellite deployment of Starlink, China's commercial space industry maximizes the usability of each satellite.
This might be an opportunity for China's commercial space industry to overtake others on a curve.
Currently, Wang Yang is also promoting the global layout of Space Time and Navigation Co., Ltd. The company has reached in - depth cooperation with operators in regions such as the Middle East, Africa, Southeast Asia, Central Asia, and Latin America to jointly promote the global development of satellite application services.
In China, such a story of counter - attack is not unfamiliar. The rise of China's new - energy vehicle industry is a textbook - level example of "overtaking on a curve." In 2014, there were less than ten new - energy vehicle companies in China. However, the new car - making forces that emerged later rewritten the pattern of the automotive industry by reconstructing the technology chain, supply chain, and manufacturing model. Chinese car companies that have been established for only more than a decade now have almost the same say in the global market as century - old car - making giants. The core of winning this battle is market volume, supply - chain efficiency, and the application of digital technology.
Commercial space and new - energy vehicles both belong to fields that are technology - intensive, capital - intensive, and have high traditional barriers. Space Time and Navigation Co., Ltd. is replicating a similar path. It uses industrialization to solve the cost problem, promotes the development of aerospace - grade components for the civilian market, and catches up through the large - scale market demand, achieving a full - link commercial closed - loop in the commercial space industry and the independent control of technology.
During this process, some surprises have also emerged. In 2023, Space Time and Navigation Co., Ltd. released the world's first integrated satellite communication vehicle - mounted glass antenna, perfectly integrating satellite communication functions into the car sunroof glass. This breakthrough shocked international peers, and Chinese companies have quietly achieved a leap from catching up to leading in the field of satellite communication.
In fact, Space Time and Navigation Co., Ltd. not only wants to be a pioneer in the commercial space industry but is becoming more and more like Huawei in the space field.
Facing various external definitions, Wang Yang responded to the strategic layout of Space Time and Navigation Co., Ltd. with the term "open - source and open ecosystem." He said, "Our ecological model is like the early Linux and Android systems. After full - stack self - research, we will implement full - stack open - source