The Launch Site on the East Coast

The National Space Administration calls Wenchang China’s first coastal launch site. In its 2024 account, the site is part of the Xichang Satellite Launch Center and has two launch positions designed for multiple directions, all-weather operation and heavy payloads. The mission list includes geosynchronous satellites, large polar-orbit spacecraft, space-station vehicles and deep-space probes. These are not interchangeable trajectories: the launch complex is built around the needs of different missions. Its position beside the sea is part of the site’s identity, but the report describes a technical facility with national responsibilities, not a public viewing platform.

Construction began in 2009, according to the space agency’s account; Wenchang entered operation and completed its first launch in 2016. The agency links Wenchang to Chang’e 5, Tianwen 1 and the construction of the space station. Between launches, teams test and integrate vehicles and spacecraft for medium- and heavy-lift missions. The calendar is measured not only in countdowns but in long cycles of preparation and infrastructure.

The 2024 report identifies liquid hydrogen, liquid oxygen and aviation kerosene among the propellants used at the site, and calls Wenchang the first Chinese launch site to adopt them all. It also names its launch-and-measurement approach as “新三垂一远” but does not explain the phrase in detail. The article stays with what the account does establish: Wenchang has testing and launch systems for multiple large vehicles, with the infrastructure required to prepare them. The countdown is a visible end point; the place is defined by the quieter systems that make a vehicle ready to leave.

The space agency describes the launch complex as integrated with native coconut forest wetlands. Engineering infrastructure and coastal habitat occupy the same landscape at Wenchang.