. 24/7 Space News .
DRAGON SPACE
Milestone mission for China's first commercial rocket company
by Staff Writers
Beijing (XNA) Dec 08, 2021

A CERES 1 Y2 carrier rocket blasts off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Northwest China, Dec 7, 2021. [Photo by Wang Jiangbo/Xinhua]

Galactic Energy, a carrier rocket maker in Beijing, has become the first private enterprise in China to have conducted two orbital missions that placed satellites in outer space.

The company's CERES 1 Y2 rocket, the second of its kind, blasted off at 12:12 pm Tuesday at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Northwest China's Gobi Desert and flew for about 14 minutes before deploying five small satellites into sun-synchronous orbits about 500 kilometers above the Earth, the private startup said in a statement.

The payloads lifted by the rocket are two scientific experimental satellites, two remote-sensing satellites and an infrared Earth-observation satellite.

The mission marked the first time a privately built Chinese rocket has successfully completed two orbital launches. The SQX 1 rocket developed by i-Space, another Beijing-based private rocket company, previously failed in its second orbital launch attempt.

Tuesday's launch was also the first successful launch by the country's private space sector this year.

An orbital mission is a spaceflight by a carrier rocket that deploys payloads into an orbit in outer space. In addition to i-Space and Galactic Energy, other Chinese private enterprises have also attempted orbital missions, a threshold for any serious newcomer in the global space sector that was first crossed by the United States' SpaceX.

CERES 1 made its debut flight in November last year from the Jiuquan center, becoming the second privately developed Chinese carrier rocket to successfully realize an orbital mission, after i-Space's SQX 1.

A CERES 1 is about 20 meters tall, has a diameter of 1.4 meters and is mainly propelled by solid propellant. With a liftoff weight of 33 metric tons, it is capable of sending a 300-kilogram satellite, or several satellites with a combined weight of 300 kg, to a 500-km sun synchronous orbit, or 350-kg payloads to a low-Earth orbit at an altitude of 200 km.

The rocket is ideal for domestic and foreign clients seeking a small, cost-efficient launch vehicle to deploy mini satellites, designers said.

Galactic Energy was established in February 2018 by some engineers from State-owned space conglomerates.

Its engineers are now designing the Pallas 1, a larger, liquid-propellant rocket model that can be reused, Xia Dongkun, a vice-president of Galactic Energy, said.

He said design of the new rocket's engine has been finalized and ground tests will soon start.

"We plan to complete the development of Pallas 1 and perform its maiden flight in the first half of 2023," he said at the company's Beijing headquarters after Tuesday's launch.

"In 2022, we will strive to carry out five to six commercial launches of the CERES 1."

Wu Peixin, an industry observer in Beijing, said Tuesday's successful launch will inject momentum and confidence into China's private space sector and will see private space companies attract more attention and resources.

Source: Xinhua News Agency


Related Links
Galactic Energy
The Chinese Space Program - News, Policy and Technology
China News from SinoDaily.com


Thanks for being there;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5+ Billed Monthly


paypal only
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal


DRAGON SPACE
Chinese astronauts to give space lecture on Dec. 9
Beijing (XNA) Dec 08, 2021
A special lecture will begin at 3:40 p.m. (Beijing Time) on Thursday, given by the three Shenzhou-13 crew members aboard China's space station, the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) announced on Monday. The three astronauts, namely Zhai Zhigang, Wang Yaping and Ye Guangfu, will interact with students on Earth. The primary ground classroom will be at the China Science and Technology Museum. Classrooms will also be set up in Nanning of south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Wenchuan County o ... read more

Comment using your Disqus, Facebook, Google or Twitter login.



Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle

DRAGON SPACE
NASA's latest astronaut trainees are already dreaming of the Moon

Experiments riding 24th SpaceX Cargo Mission to USS included bioprinting, crystallization, laundry studies

Successful and diverse harvest in darkness and eternal ice

Russia's cosmos town, an isolated relic of Soviet glory

DRAGON SPACE
European space firm to build small, reusable launcher

Russia strikes deal with NASA for first cosmonaut on SpaceX flight

RUAG Space: First fully U.S.-made fairing to fly into space

AFRL celebrates successful rocket launch at STEM Academy

DRAGON SPACE
Mars helicopter flies again; encounters radio interference on 17th flight

Sol 3319: Shoot the Gap

Rover escapes from sand trap

Ingenuity heading north into Seitah for Flight 17

DRAGON SPACE
First crew of space station provide a full update on China's progress

Milestone mission for China's first commercial rocket company

Chinese astronauts to give space lecture on Dec. 9

China to livestream first space class from Tiangong space station

DRAGON SPACE
Growing trend shows demand for maintenance students at commercial space firms

Airbus and DLR intensify cooperation

Exploring the heart of space weather with the Geospace Dynamics Constellation

Ben Griffin explains how Oneweb's LEO Constellation will change the IFC Market

DRAGON SPACE
NASA and industry embrace laser communications

Oculus Observatory set to disrupt space situational awareness globally

Technique enables real-time rendering of scenes in 3D

Researchers develop novel 3D printing technique to engineer biofilms

DRAGON SPACE
ESO telescope images planet around most massive star pair to date

Airbus will build ESA's Ariel exoplanet satellite

Gas bubbles in rock pores - a nursery for life on Early Earth

Iron integral to the development of life on Earth - and the possibility of life on other planets

DRAGON SPACE
Planet decision that booted out Pluto is rooted in folklore, astrology

Are Water Plumes Spraying from Europa

Science results offer first 3D view of Jupiter's atmosphere

Juno peers deep into Jupiter's colorful belts and zones









The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.