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Kinetica 1 | 9 satellites

CAS Space · Kinetica 1

The launch vehicle successfully inserted its payload(s) into the target orbit(s).

Launch window 03:54–04:15 UTC.

The mission

Share-ride of 9 commercial Earth observation and technology demonstration satellites to SSO, details TBD.

Vehicle and site

Rocket

Kinetica 1

Mission

9 satellites

Mission type

Earth Science

Pad

Launch Area 130

Location

Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

Coordinates

40.8182°, 100.2251°

Kinetica 1 (also known as Lijian-1, Chinese: 力箭一号) is a Chinese solid-propellant light launch vehicle. It is capable of placing about 2 tons into low earth orbit and 1.5 tons into sun-synchronous orbit. It is developed by CAS Space, a subsidiary of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Kinetica 1 is a light launcher whose first stage seems to be derived from the DF-31 long-range intercontinental ballistic missile. It is 30 m high and has a diameter of 2.65 m, with a liftoff mass of 135 t. It's the largest Chinese solid propellant launcher to date, with four stages with a thrust of 200, 100, 50 and 10 tons respectively. The fairing has a diameter of 3.35 meters.

CAS Space

CAS Space is a spin-off company from the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) that is operating and plans to operate various launch vehicles of the Zhongke series.

Launches to date

17

Successful

16

Failed

1

Consecutive successes

11

Schedule from Launch Library 2, rebuilt hourly. Dates slip: a time given to the minute is a target, not a promise, and this page reflects the schedule as it stood at the last build. All upcoming launches.