Chinese startup launches 7th Ceres-1 rocket, preps for first sea launch

Chinese commercial firm Galactic Energy achieved its seventh launch success from seven attempts early Thursday and is now set for a first sea-based mission. The seventh Ceres-1 solid rocket lifted off using a transporter erector launcher at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert at 12:03 a.m. Eastern, Aug. 10 (0403 UTC). Aboard were seven satellites for a variety of customers. The Beijing-based commercial firm is now preparing to make the first attempt by a Chinese commercial rocket company to launch from a mobile sea platform, a Galactic Energy representative told SpaceNews. The rocket will lift off from a platform off the coast of Haiyang, Shandong province, during a window starting Aug. 20 and running until the end of the month. So far only the state-owned China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT) and its affiliated China Rocket company have launched from the sea, using Long March 11 and Jielong-3 (“Smart Dragon-3”) solid rockets. Thursday’s launch carried Xiguang-1 (01), Star Pool-1B satellite, GeoSat Intelligent Emergency-1, and the Xi’an Hangtou -88, -96, -104 and -112 satellites. The satellites are expected to enter roughly 500-kilometer-altitude sun-synchronous orbits. Xikuang-1 (01) is a 100-kilogram class hyperspectral satellite belonging to the Xikuang-1 series developed by Xi’an Zhongke Xikuang Aerospace Science and Technology Co., Ltd., or Xiopm Space. The satellite carries multiple payloads including a hyperspectral camera, infrared camera, panchromatic camera, on-board intelligent processing unit for a range of Earth observation uses.

The seventh Ceres-1 rocket lifts off from Jiuquan spaceport at 0403 UTC, Aug. 10. Credit: Galactic Energy

The four Xi’an Hangtou satellites are lightweight, low-power optical satellites focusing on assisting ecological sustainability in the Qinling region of Shaanxi, the province in which Xiopm Space is based.

Star Pool 1B is a wide-view, integrated sensing satellite independently developed by Elliptical Space and Time (EllipSpace). The multi-payload satellite features inter-satellite/satellite-ground communication and navigation enhancement capabilities.

The mission aims to verify miniaturization of payloads and the core technologies of the satellite of Star Pool Program and demonstrate its applications. The program envisions constructing a constellation or more than 100 “intelligent” satellites.

Geosat Intelligent Emergency-1 is an “AI-centered satellite” with an intelligent operating system, which is jointly developed by Geosat 2 Space Technology (Hangzhou) Co., Ltd. and Suzhou Tianxun Space Technology Co., Ltd. It is equipped with high-resolution array cameras, near-infrared cameras and IoT communications payloads, utilizing on-board intelligent processing technology.

The Ceres-1 solid rocket 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 can deliver 400 kg to LEO or 300 kg to a 500-kilometer-altitude sun-synchronous orbit (SSO).

Galactic Energy now moves to focus on its first sea launch of the Ceres-1. The sea launch will carry the satellites Tianqi 21-24 for Guodian Gaoke, a commercial firm constructing its Tianqi low-Earth orbit narrow-band Internet of Things constellation.

The firm’s Tianqi-13 satellite took a Ceres-1 ride to orbit in January of this year.

The upcoming sea launch attempt adds to a number of breakthroughs for China’s commercial launch sector in 2023. These include the first successful launch of a commercial liquid propellant rocket, a global first methane-powered rocket reaching orbit, and an increased launch rate.

So far commercial firms Galactic Energy, iSpace, Space Pioneer and Landspace, as well as state-owned commercial spinoffs CAS Space and Expace, have all reached orbit so far this year. Another, Orienspace, is targeting its first launch with the Gravity-1 solid rocket in December. China is building commercial launch pads at Wenchang, Hainan island, to ease a bottleneck in access to spaceports. The sea launch facilities at Haiyang may also allow more commercial and liquid launchers in the future.

China launches new science probes, SAR sat and replacement Beidou satellite

China conducted a pair of launches last week to replenish its Beidou navigation system and send science and radar tech test satellites into orbit. A Long March 2C rocket lifted off at 4 a.m. Eastern May 21 from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert. Aboard were the Macau Science Satellite 1A and 1B, designed to study the Earth’s magnetic field, and the Luojia-2 (01), a Ka-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR) test satellite for Wuhan University. Macau Science Satellite 1A carries payloads for measuring the Earth’s magnetic field while 1B features high-energy particle detectors and solar X-ray instruments. The pair will provide complementary observations to those made by ESA’s Swarm satellites and the Sino-Italian seismo-electromagnetic satellite, Zhangheng-1. The satellites will also monitor the South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA), a weak spot in Earth’s magnetic field which impacts the operations of spacecraft. The platform for satellite 1A was developed by DFH Satellite under the China Academy of Space Technology (CAST), the main satellite-making arm of China’s main space contractor, CASC, while 1B was developed by Northwestern Polytechnical University. The payloads were developed by the Macau University of Science and Technology (MUST). Luojia-2 (01) is testing multi-angle and video radar imaging, with a highest resolution of 0.5 meters in spotlight imaging mode. It will also test signal enhancement and integration of remote sensing imaging, meteorological detection and water conservancy applications, according to Chinese media reports. It continues a surge in SAR developments in China.

A Long March 2C rocket ignites at Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, May 21, 2023, carrying science and SAR satellites to orbit. Credit: OurSpace

The 353-kilogram Luojia-2 was developed by Wuhan University. The first satellite, Luojia-1, launched in June 2018 and had a mass of 20 kilograms.

The launch of the satellites was facilitated by the China Great Wall Industry Corp. (CGWIC), another CASC subsidiary, which is authorized to provide commercial launch services, as well as satellites and engage in international space cooperation.

Prior to this, a Long March 3B lifted off from Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China at 10:49 p.m. Eastern, May 16. Aboard was the 56th satellite for China’s Beidou navigation and positioning system, and is headed for geostationary orbit.

It is the first backup satellite for the Beidou system, which was completed in 2020. The new satellite is part of an overall aim to improve the system’s availability, stability, short message communication capacity and positioning precision.

The launches were China’s 19th and 20th of 2023 so far. CASC plans more than 60 launches this year, while commercial actors could add more than 20 orbital missions, according to announced plans.

A Long March 2F rocket was rolled out at Jiuquan May 22 ahead of launch of the Shenzhou-16 crewed mission. That launch to the Tiangong space station could take place as soon as May 27. China earlier this month sent the Tianzhou-6 cargo spacecraft to Tiangong to provide supplies, propellant, science experiments and equipment to Tiangong.

Commercial company Landspace also recently delivered its second Zhuque-2 methalox to Jiuquan.

Shenzhou 15 astronauts arrive at China’s space station for first crew handover

China has six astronauts aboard its recently-completed space station for the first time following the arrival of three crew members aboard Shenzhou-15. Shenzhou-15 launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert at 10:08 a.m. Eastern Nov. 29. Rendezvous and docking with the Tiangong space station was completed at 4:42 p.m., China’s human spaceflight agency, CMSA, confirmed. Astronauts Fei Junlong, Deng Qingming and Zhang Lu are to be greeted aboard Tiangong by Shenzhou 14 crew members Chen Dong, Liu Yang and Cai Xuzhe, who have spent the last six months aboard the station and overseen the arrival of two new modules. The Shenzhou 15 crew will be sustained by supplies delivered to Tiangong aboard the Tianzhou-5 cargo mission launched Nov. 11 Eastern time. The Tiangong space station now consists of three roughly 22-ton modules in a 393 by 386-kilometer orbit. The 13.5-ton Tianzhou-5 cargo spacecraft and two roughly 8.2-ton Shenzhou spacecraft are docked with it. The Shenzhou-14 crew are expected to return to Earth in early December. The first crew rotation marks the start of science operations on Tiangong, which carries 24 experiment cabinets and a payload airlock. China aims to keep the orbital outpost constantly occupied and operational in orbit for at least ten years. China will begin to send international experiments to the station through an initiative with UNOOSA in the near future.

A Long March 2F rocket carrying the Shenzhou-15 spacecraft and crew rises into the sky against a lunar backdrop. Credit: CCTV/framegrab

It is expected that Tiangong will outlast the aging International Space Station and could become the only permanent crewed outpost in orbit. The arrival of Shenzhou-15 at Tiangong signifies the completion of plans approved in 1992 to develop human spaceflight capabilities and build a space station.

The country’s first crewed mission, Shenzhou-5 in 2003, made it only the third to develop independent human spaceflight capabilities. Two Tiangong test labs followed in the 2010s to test rendezvous and docking, life support and on-orbit operations. At the same time China was effectively barred from joining the ISS by U.S. legislation which effectively prevented NASA engagement with Chinese state entities.

China aimed to launch its first proper space station module in 2018 and complete the station with further module launches in 2020 and 2022. A failure of the Long March 5 rocket in July 2017 and subsequent issues with the rocket’s engines and turbopumps delayed this schedule.

With the Long March 5B finally operational, China condensed the construction phase of Tiangong to fit inside 18 months. The Tianhe core module launched in April 2021, and culminated 10 launches later with Shenzhou-15 arriving at the completed T-shaped complex.

Tiangong itself could also be expanded from three to six modules, according to Chinese space officials. Such an expansion may depend upon other countries joining the project.

The Xuntian optical module—a co-orbiting, Hubble-class space survey telescope with a two meter aperture and 2.5 gigapixel camera—is planned to join Tiangong in orbit in late 2023 or 2024.

The decision to embark on a space station program was taken back when the country’s economy represented around 2% of the global economy and seeking a foothold in the international launch market.

China has since become the world’s second largest economy behind the United States, and achieved a number of feats in space, including a Mars rover landing, lunar far side landing, building its Beidou GNSS constellation and more.

The country is also moving forward with a robotic lunar exploration program with the goal of building a lunar base in the vicinity of the south pole of the moon in the 2030s.

This pathway is designed to converge with human spaceflight experience gained from Tiangong and the development of new, large rockets to allow China to send astronauts to the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS).

China launches new remote-sensing satellites

Five new remote-sensing satellites were sent into planned orbit from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China's Gobi Desert Thursday. The five satellites were launched by a Long March-11 carrier rocket at 2:42 p.m. (Beijing Time). The satellites belong to a commercial remote-sensing satellite constellation project "Zhuhai-1", which will comprise 34 micro-nano satellites, including video, hyperspectral, and high-resolution optical satellites, as well as radar and infrared satellites. The carrier rocket was developed by the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, and the satellites were produced by the Harbin Institute of Technology and operated by the Zhuhai Orbita Aerospace Science and Technology Co. Ltd. Thursday's launch was the 311th mission for the Long March series carrier rockets. The newly launched satellites comprise four hyperspectral satellites with 256 wave-bands and a coverage width of 150 km, and a video satellite with a resolution of 90 centimeters. The Zhuhai-1 hyperspectral satellites have the highest spatial resolution and the largest coverage width of their type in China. The data will be used for precise quantitative analysis of vegetation, water and crops, and will provide services for building smart cities, said Orbita, the largest private operator of hyperspectral satellites in orbit.

The company aims to cooperate with government organizations and enterprises to expand the big data satellite services.

China launches Centispace-1-s1 satellite

China launched its Centispace-1-s1 satellite on a Kuaizhou-1A rocket from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China at 12:13 p.m. Saturday. This is the second commercial launch by the Kuaizhou-1A rocket. The first launch in January 2017 sent three satellites into space. The Kuaizhou-1A was developed by a rocket technology company under the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC). It is a low-cost solid-fuel carrier rocket with high reliability and a short preparation period, designed to launch low-orbit satellites weighing under 300 kg. The Centispace-1-s1 was developed by Innovation Academy for Microsatellites of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. It is a technology experiment satellite for the low-orbit navigation enhancement system being developed by Beijing Future Navigation Technology Co. Ltd.

Chinese private space company to launch first carrier rocket

China will launch its first solid-propellant carrier rocket developed by a Chinese private company late this year. The ZQ-1 rocket was developed by Landspace, a Beijing-based rocket-maker. Its technicians are former state-owned aerospace industry workers. Carrying a small satellite, the rocket will be launched at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China, the company said Thursday. "If the launch mission can go well, the ZQ-1 will become China's first private carrier rocket that can send satellites into space," said Zhang Changwu, CEO of Landspace. The 19-meter-long rocket has a 1.35-meter diameter, a takeoff weight of 27 tonnes and thrust of 45 tonnes. It is flexible, cost-efficient and has been designed with mature technology and fast response ability. "After nine months of development, the rocket completed the final assembly Monday and entered the launching phase, showing that the company is capable of making rockets," Zhang said. The satellite, Future, carried by the rocket is for space science and remote sensing for a TV show on China Central Television. It will orbit for two years. ZQ is short for Zhuque (Vermilion bird). It is one of the four spirits of ancient Chinese mythology, representing fire and controlling the southerly direction.

The company also plans to launch ZQ-2, a liquid-fueled rocket, in 2020.

China has more than 60 private companies entering the commercial space industry. They are growing fast and competing in market for launches of small satellites and rockets.