Liftoff of a Gravity-1 solid rocket, July 22, 2026, from a launch service ship in the East China Sea. Credit: Orienspace
HELSINKI — Shanghai has begun construction on a wharf intended to connect a planned commercial rocket manufacturing hub to sea-launch operations, according to Chinese commercial space sources.
The Linzang Road wharf, on the north bank of the Huangpu River in Shanghai’s Minhang district, will handle rocket rollout, dockside loading and river-sea transfer once complete. The wharf’s construction permit was reportedly issued in early August, with completion targeted for early 2027, according to an industry newsletter report of an Aug. 27 project meeting.
The development is a piece of Minhang district’s planned “Rocket Star City,” a 9.3-square-kilometer commercial space cluster announced in January, part of a plan to create a 100 billion yuan ($14.9 billion)-level space cluster by 2027. The plan targets 80 rockets and 200 satellites in annual production by 2027, rising to 150 rockets and 500 satellites by 2030, according to Shanghai’s municipal government. Minhang district officials confirmed the wharf project’s existence and rationale in earlier remarks to Chinese financial outlet Jiemian News, saying river-sea transport would remove the diameter constraints of overland rocket transit.
