HELSINKI — China’s Galactic Energy conducted its first sea launch early Wednesday, also marking a ninth successive successful launch for the business company.
The Ceres-1 solid rocket lifted off from a transport erector launcher on a mobile sea platform off the coast of Haiyang, Shandong province, at 5:34 a.m. Eastern (0934 UTC) Sept. 5.
Aboard were 4 satellites for Guodian Gaoke, a business firm constructing its Tianqi low-Earth orbit narrow-band Web of Things constellation.
The launch carried Tianqi satellites 21-24, with the spacecraft targeting an 800-kilometer-altitude orbit. The satellites are equipped with chemical propulsion systems allowing orbital maneuvers. Guodian Gaoke has 21 satellites in orbit and goals to finish the 38-satellite constellation in 2024.
Galactic Energy dubbed the launch “The Little Mermaid” in a Rocket Lab-style mission naming.
Ceres-1 has a diameter of 1.4 meters, a length of about 20 meters, a mass at take-off of about 33 tons and a liquid propellant upper stage. It will probably deliver 400 kg to low Earth orbit (LEO) or 300 kg to a 500-kilometer-altitude sun-synchronous orbit (SSO). This was the primary launch to 800 kilometers.
China’s Eastern sea launch spaceport in Haiyang facilitated the launch. The mobile rocket launch barge designated DE FU 15002 was used for the launch.
Haiyang has now supported launches of state-owned Long March 11 solid rockets and the spinoff Jielong-3 rocket. One other startup, Orienspace, is currently targeting December for its first ever launch, using Haiyang.
Orienspace’s Gravity-1 consists of three solid stages and 4 side boosters. The rocket could have the aptitude to lift around 6,500 kilograms of payload to LEO, or 3,700 kilograms to 700-km SSO.
Haiyang spaceport could support liquid launchers in the longer term and is a component of a wider expansion of spaceports in China to assist ease a bottleneck in access to space, and supply greater launch flexibility and redundancy. It could potentially reduce the chance from falling rocket debris related to Chinese launches from inland spaceports.
Tuesday’s Ceres-1 launch was a hot launch. Long March 11 launches from the Yellow Sea have been cold launches.
Galactic Energy was founded in early 2018 by former employees of the state-owned China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT). With support of the national military-civil fusion strategy, the firm launched its first Ceres-1 solid rocket in November 2020. This made it only the second private Chinese launch firm to put a satellite in orbit, following iSpace in 2019.
A single launch followed a 12 months later, with a pair of launches performed in 2022. The corporate is now ramping up its launch rate, launching five times in 2023, including 4 since July 22.
The corporate can be preparing for the primary launch of its Pallas-1 kerosene-liquid oxygen launcher. The reusable two-stage Pallas-1 might be able to carrying 5,000 kilograms to LEO or 3,000 kilograms to 700-km SSO. It raised $200 million for reusable launch vehicle development in early 2022.
Galactic Energy stated on the China Industrial Aerospace Forum in Wuhan in July this 12 months that it’s targeting Q3 next 12 months for the Pallas-1 test flight. The corporate plans a primary flight including recovery of the primary stage using landing legs for 2025.
Space Pioneer (Tianlong-2) and Landspace (Zhuque-2) earlier this 12 months became the primary Chinese business firms to achieve orbit with liquid propellant rockets. These successes mark a jump in Chinese business payload capability, in addition to launch vehicle complexity.
China’s business launch sector has also grown by way of launch rate and variety in 2023. Six firms — Galactic Energy, iSpace, Landspace, Space Pioneer and state-owned spinoffs CAS Space and Expace have all reached orbit this 12 months. This group have already launched 11 times this 12 months, surpassing the full of 10 missions accrued by Expace, CAS Space, China Rocket, Galactic Energy and iSpace (one failure) in 2022.