by A commercial Chinese rocket maker has completed its fourth solid rocket launch, sending five satellites into orbit.
CAS Space’s Kinetica-1 (aka Lijian-1) solid rocket lifted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert at 7:33 PM EDT on September 24 (2333 GMT; or 7:33 AM Beijing time on September 25).
There were two radar images on board satellitesCAS-01 and CAS-02, where CAS refers to the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS); Jilin-1 SAR 01A, an X-band radar imaging satellite for commercial firm Changguang Satellite Technology (CGST); and Yunyao-1 21 and 22, a pair of meteorology satellites with GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) occultation payloads to measure atmospheric temperature, humidity and pressure for Tianjin Yunyao Aerospace Technology Co., Ltd.
US Space Force Tracking the space domain, solar-synchronous orbits for the satellites were picked up with altitudes of approximately 328 by 316 miles (528 by 508 kilometers).
Related: The latest news about the Chinese space program
Both launch provider CAS Space and satellite operator CGST are spin-offs of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and part of China’s emerging commercial space sector.
The mission was the fourth Kinetica-1 launch since the rocket’s successful debut flight in 2022. It was also the second Kinetica-1 flight of the year, following another mission with five satellites back in January.
CAS Space has plans that go beyond solid rockets. The company is developing a reusable liquid propellant rocket suborbital tourismas well as the reusable orbital Kinetics-2 rocket.
The launch was China’s 45th in 2024. Most of these have used China’s Long March rockets, but also commercial companies such as CAS Space, Galactic Energy and Expace have contributed to this total.
