Lift-off for China’s pocket Jielong 3 rocket launches another busy year of commercial missions

China Rocket sends nine satellites into orbit, propelled by a competitive business model
Carmaker Geely also launches 11 satellites to expand navigation for autonomous vehicles

China's space programme

Reuters

Published: 4:31pm, 3 Feb, 2024

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A small but powerful Chinese rocket capable of sending payloads at competitive costs delivered nine satellites into orbit on Saturday, Chinese state media reported, in what is gearing up to be another busy year for Chinese commercial launches.

The Jielong 3, or Smart Dragon 3, blasted off from a floating barge off the coast of Yangjiang in southern Guangdong province. It was the third launch of the rocket, developed by China Rocket, a commercial offshoot of a state-owned launch vehicle manufacturer, since December 2022.

President Xi Jinping has called for the expansion of strategic industries including the commercial space sector, deemed key to building constellations of satellites for communications, remote sensing and navigation.

Also on Saturday, Chinese carmaker Geely Holding Group launched 11 satellites to boost its capacity to provide more accurate navigation for autonomous vehicles.

Critical to the construction of commercial satellite networks is China’s ability to open more launch windows, expand rocket types to accommodate different payload sizes, lower launch costs, and increase the number of launch sites such as building more spaceports and using sea launch vessels.

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The Jielong 3 can carry a 1,500kg (3,300-pound) payload into a 500km (310-mile) sun-synchronous orbit. China Rocket has previously said the rocket could carry more than 20 satellites at a launch cost of under US$10,000 per kilogram – a globally competitive rate for small-lift rockets.

The cost is similar to the launches of other Chinese small-lift rockets including the Long March 11, but their payload sizes are significantly smaller.

The Jielong 3 is comparable to the powerful Lijian 1, which first flew in 2022.

Developed by CAS Space, a Guangzhou-headquartered commercial spin-off of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lijian 1 can also send a 1,500kg payload to a 500km sun-synchronous orbit.

Other commercial companies in the Chinese vehicle launch sector include Galactic Energy, whose Ceres 1 rocket made its debut flight in November 2020.

Ceres 1 can deliver a 300kg payload to a 500km sun-synchronous orbit.

Beijing-based Galactic Energy made at least seven Ceres 1 launches in 2023, up from four in 2020-2022.

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Also in the fray is LandSpace, whose launch of the Zhuque 2 in last year marked the world’s first successful payload delivery by a liquid oxygen-methane rocket and a breakthrough in China’s use of low-cost liquid propellants.

In the realm of larger rockets, Orienspace in January launched Gravity 1 from a ship off the coast of eastern Shandong province.

The rocket is capable of sending a payload of up to 6,500kg into low-Earth orbit, making it the most powerful launch vehicle developed by a private Chinese enterprise.

A small-lift rocket carries payloads of up to 2,000kg, while medium ones deliver up to 20,000kg and heavy rockets can easily carry in excess of 20,000kg. SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy can lift up to 64,000kg into orbit.

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