The company reported that the rocket lifted off at 1 pm from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the northwestern Gobi Desert, sending three remote-sensing satellites into a sun synchronous orbit about 545 kilometers above Earth.
Remote sensing involves detecting and monitoring the physical characteristics of an area by measuring its reflected and emitted radiation from a distance, typically using aircraft or satellites.
The solid-propellant Ceres 1 rocket is about 20 meters tall with a diameter of 1.4 meters. It has a liftoff weight of 33 metric tons and can send a 300-kilogram satellite or multiple satellites with a combined weight of 300 kg to a 500-km sun synchronous orbit. It can also carry a 350-kg payload to a low-Earth orbit at an altitude of 200 km.
Galactic Energy launched a Ceres 1 from a ship in the Yellow Sea on May 29, sending four satellites into space. Two days later, another Ceres 1 was launched from the Jiuquan center, placing five satellites in orbit.
To date, 14 Ceres 1 flights have placed 48 commercial satellites into space, surpassing other privately built rocket models in China, according to Galactic Energy.
Based on a Xinhua News Agency article
Related Links
Galactic Energy
Rocket Science News at Space-Travel.Com
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