The Wenchang Space Launch Site in south China's Hainan Province has completed more than 10 launch missions so far this year, marking the first time the annual number has reached double digits at the facility.

The rise in missions came as technical teams shortened the rocket testing cycle, which means the period when a rocket occupies ground facilities before its launch. Higher-density operations hinge on reducing the period.

"The Long March-5 rocket's testing cycle at the launch site has been reduced significantly from the original 60 days to about 30 now. For the Long March-7 series, the cycle has also been reduced from about 40 days to about 20 now," said Wang Yuliang, a technician at the launch site.

Maintaining a faster cadence requires equipment to perform reliably under parallel mission schedules. Technicians have been using gaps between launches to upgrade systems and carry out routine maintenance.

"We brought together our equipment managers and technical teams to carry out scientific analysis focusing on reliability design, single-point failure risks, service life and maintenance needs. The key work we've done includes enhancing equipment capacity, expanding outsourced maintenance for general-purpose systems, upgrading centralized monitoring and streamlining our laboratory procedures," said Fu Yihang, another technician at the site.

Since commencing operations in 2016, Wenchang has handled 43 missions, covering lunar exploration, China's first planetary probe and the construction of China's space station. Its annual launch capacity has risen from three to four missions to six to eight, while the types of rockets it supports have grown from two to six.

This year's milestone represents the launch site's more stable, routine high-density launch capacity for China's new-generation heavy-lift carrier rockets.