The Chinese company Galactic Energy has successfully carried out the first sea launch of its Ceres-1 rocket from a floating platform near Hainan Island. It put four satellites into orbit. This is another success of Chinese private space.
Galactic Energy successfully launched a rocket
The Chinese company Galactic Energy became the first in the Celestial Empire, launching a space start from a floating platform. It took place on September 5 from a floating platform near the coast of Hainan Island in the south of the country.
The Ceres-1 rocket successfully launched four satellites of the Tianqi network into orbit at an altitude of 800 km. This was the first launch of this carrier, in which the payload was put into orbit above 500 km. “Tianqi” is the Internet of Things, a network in which devices can exchange data automatically.
This system is being created by Guodian Gaoke, and it already had 21 spacecraft in orbit at the time of launch. Now four more will join them, and by 2024, their number should grow to 38.
Ceres-1 rocket from Galactic Energy
Ceres-1 is a solid-fuel rocket with a take-off weight of 33 tons. Its length is about 20 m, and its diameter is 1.4 m. It is capable of carrying loads weighing up to 400 kg into low Earth orbit or 300 kg into a synchronous solar orbit with a height of 500 km.
Galactic Energy, the company that developed it, was founded in 2018, and in 2020 it launched the Ceres-1 rocket for the first time from a ground-based cosmodrome. Thus, the company became China’s second private space carrier after iSpace.
Since then, Galactic Energy has been constantly increasing the number of its launches. It is preparing to test its new Pallas-1 rocket. It will be a heavy two-stage reusable carrier that will run on kerosene and liquid oxygen. It will pick up 5 tons of cargo to a low Earth orbit or 3 tons to a sun-synchronous one. The first launch is expected in 2025.
According to spacenews.com
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