Chinese spacecraft builder CAST intends to develop a large satellite bus matched to the throw weight of the Long March 5 rocket under development by sibling company CALT. Aimed squarely at the most active part of the communications satellite market, the bus will have a mass of 6.5-7 tons, be able to carry a payload of 1.2 -1.5 tons and generate 15-20 kw. of electrical power. The design life will be 15 years and the designation DFH-5, says CAST President Yang Baohua.

Joint ventures with foreign companies will be the primary means by which the aircraft-systems company of Chinese manufacturer Avic moves into the global civil market. Driven by the Comac C919 program, the systems joint ventures will generally take over almost all of the civil assets of Avic in their respective fields of business, say Chinese executives.

China’s largest aerospace company, Avic, has far to go in the reform effort launched two years ago, as long-established plants and institutes only gradually cede power to a new set of subsidiaries that are crucial to the group’s development. What should eventually emerge is a clean corporate structure in which the Avic head office in Beijing guides group strategy, allocates resources and sets financial targets; the new subsidiaries integrate the group’s product lines; and the plants and institutes concentrate on operations.