Space is the final frontier for private firms as they muscle into an area dominated by State-owned companies
A satellite the size of a teakettle will be launched into space by the end of this year.
Once the cubesat starts circling the earth at tens of thousands of kilometers an hour, it will be used to teach astronomy to Chinese high school students.
Backed by space startup Commsat Technology Development Co Ltd, this project is just one of a wide range of private sector ventures.
"Many investors are optimistic about the industry," said Huang He, a partner of Northern Light Venture Capital, which has already injected funds into another startup Spacety Co Ltd.
In the past few years, the commercial space sector has come alive in China as private companies jostle for launch dates.
Before, the final frontier was the preserve of government-backed programs from State-owned companies.
But now a slew of startups have appeared and along with established tech outfits are rolling out new business models for the space sector at competitive costs.
"Private firms can make swift decisions to meet consumer demand," said Peng Yuanyuan, co-founder and chief operating officer at Commsat. "Plus, our trial and error costs are relatively low."
In 2015, the global space economy rocketed to $323 billion. Commercial operations accounted for up to 76 percent, or $246 billion, according to The Space Report 2016, which was released by The Space Foundation.
By 2020, China's commercial space market is expected to expand to 800 billion yuan ($120 billion), the China Securities Journal reported.
Already the country's new boys are moving in with Spacety launching the microsatellite, Xiaoxiang No 1, or Ty-1, for the scientific community last November.
Other startups such as Commsat Technology, Zhejiang Lizhui Electronic Technology Co and Guangdong Kechuang Spaceflight Co are just behind them, waiting for the right window.
Even though private companies have come late to this business, they believe they can push the boundaries of space by using more market-oriented models.
Yang Feng, founder and CEO of Spacety, pointed out that the next five satellites being rolled out by his company are all "fully booked" although he did not reveal detailed financial numbers.
He did make it clear, though, that the satellites will be launched in the second half of this year.
Commsat is in a similar position and has almost recouped the cost of its planned educational satellite, Peng stressed.
"We are able to increase the capabilities of the spacecraft without adding greatly to the costs," she said.
Peng is expecting Commsat to turn over revenue of 30 million yuan this year although she declined to disclose detailed financial figures.
