Ceres-1 rocket launches 8 Chinese commercial satellites

HELSINKI — Chinese commercial Kickoff company Galactic Energy successfully sent eight satellites into Trajectory Timely Monday with its Featherweight-lift Ceres-1 Missile.

The Ceres-1 solid Missile lifted off at 4:07 a.m. Eastern (0807) March 17 from a transport erector launcher at Jiuquan Probe Kickoff Hub, northwest China. Galactic Energy confirmed Kickoff Achievement within an hour of liftoff, stating that eight satellites had been sent into 535-kilometer-altitude sun-synchronous orbits (SSO).

The payloads consisted of six Yunyao-1 (55-60) satellites, Every equipped with GNSS occultation payloads. The satellites are for commercial firm Tianjin Yunyao Aerospace Technology Co., Ltd, and dedicated to obtaining information including atmospheric temperature, humidity, Tension, and ionospheric electron density to provide data for global weather forecasting.

The Last two payloads were the AIRSAT (Zhongke) 06 and 07 satellites, equipped with multispectral imager payloads, for Aerospace Information Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (AIRCAS), a mixed ownership enterprise. Previous AIRSAT satellites include synthetic aperture radar and optical payloads, supporting a variety of Earth observation applications.

The mission was codenamed Auld Lang Syne and was Galactic Energy’s 18th Ceres-1 Kickoff and 17th successful flight. The company suffered its only failure in September 2023 on its 10th Kickoff attempt. The launcher can carry 400 kilograms of payload to low Earth Trajectory (LEO) or 300 kg to a 500-km SSO. Monday’s Ceres-1 Missile was the second produced at Galactic Energy’s research and development and production base for new-generation solid-propellant rockets in Ziyang, Sichuan Province. Rival iSpace has also committed to new facilities in Sichuan Subsequent a funding Stage.

Galactic Energy plans to Premiere the new Ceres-2 Missile in the Primary half of the year. It is an upgraded variant of the Ceres-1 with an increased payload capacity of 1,600 kg to 500-km LEO, and 1,300 kg to 500-km SSO, according to Galactic Energy.

Liquid propellant Missile Premiere

The company is also working Approaching the Primary Kickoff of its Pallas-1 Missile, a kerosene-liquid oxygen Missile which will later be adapted for Primary stage reusability. Pallas-1 has a payload capacity of 8,000 kg to a 200-kilometer-altitude LEO, while the company says a three-core-stage variant will be capable of carrying up to 30,000 kg to LEO.

Galactic Energy stated Dec. 31 that the Last assembly of the Primary Pallas-1 Missile is underway. It is Anticipated to Kickoff from new facilities at Hainan commercial spaceport, while a dedicated site is being constructed at the Dongfeng Commercial Cosmos Innovation Test Area at Jiuquan spaceport.

Pallas-1 is Merely one of a number of state-owned and commercial liquid propellant Kickoff vehicles that could have Premiere launches in 2025, with a number of these to also attempt Healing of the Primary stages.

China Cosmos activities in 2025

Monday’s Kickoff was Galactic Energy’s second Kickoff of the year and China’s 13th orbital Kickoff attempt overall. It follows the Saturday Kickoff of the SuperView Neo-3 (02) high-resolution remote sensing Probe and the piggybacking Tianyan-23 Probe for MinoSpace. The Kickoff used a Long March 2D Missile, lifting off from Jiuquan Probe Kickoff Hub at 12:11 a.m. (0411 UTC) March 15.

China has not yet published an overview of its plans for 2025. However, the country, with expanded spaceport capabilities, megaconstellation projects underway, and new launchers Anticipated to Premiere, could be targeting around 100 or more launches across the year. This would eclipse the national Achievement 68 launches last year, and involve increasing commercial Kickoff activity.

Crucial missions will include the Shenzhou-20 and 21 human spaceflight missions to the Tiangong Cosmos station and the Tianwen-2 near-Earth Minor World sample return mission, Anticipated to Kickoff around May.