Back out of the blue [Ceres-1S Y3]
Galactic Energy has performed its third sea-based launch of Ceres-1.
Ceres-1S lifted off from its sea launch platform in the Yellow Sea at 13:22 pm China Standard Time, or 05:22 am Universal Coordinated Time, on August 29th. This launch was supported by the Haiyang Oriental Spaceport, in the province of Shandong, with the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center administrating the launch.
Six payloads were onboard Ceres-1S for its Y3 mission and were delivered to a 535-kilometer sun-synchronous orbit. The payloads were:
Yunyao-1 15 (云遥一号15)
Yunyao-1 16 (云遥一号16)
Yunyao-1 17 (云遥一号17)
Jitianxing A-03 (吉天星A-03)
Suxing-1 01 (苏星一号01)
Tianfu Gaofen-2 (天辅高分二号)
The Yunyao-1 15, 16, and 17 are meteorological satellites for weather forecasting, with infrared cameras and GNSS radio occultation instruments. These three specific satellites are previously thought to have been lost with the failure of iSpace’s Hyperbola-1 Y8 mission, back in July, but may have just been misidentified.
Jitianxing A-03 is a remote-sensing satellite that will be used for the verification of high-resolution optical remote-sensing technology. The satellites is also stated as having been independently developed by Suzhou Jitianxingzhou Space Technology.
Suxing-1 01 is believed to be an experimental satellite developed by Shanghai AES Aerospace Technology for use by the Northwestern Polytechnical University Taicang Yangtze River Delta Research Institute. On orbit, the satellite will be used to verify optical remote-sensing imaging technology.
Tianfu Gaofen-2 is another remote-sensing satellite that will be used to provide hyperspectral remote-sensing data services. Xiamen Tianwei Technology will operate the satellite with it having been developed by Hunan Hangsheng Satellite Technology.
Launch and in-space video via SciNews on Youtube.
This mission was Galactic Energy’s fourth launch of 2024, and the second from a sea launch platform. Overall, this was Ceres-1’s fifteenth orbital launch attempt, and the fourteenth success.
With fourteen successful launches, Galactic Energy has delivered fifty-four satellites into orbit for twenty-three customers.
For China’s wider launch goals this year, this was the thirty-eighth launch, as one hundred launches are expected to occur this year. Galactic Energy is expected to contribute a sizable chunk of the thirty privately owned commercial launches, with the other seventy coming from state-owned launch companies.
This was also China’s twelfth sea-based launch mission, as part of efforts to ensure greater access to space.
What is Ceres-1/1S?
This section is for those less familiar with China's commercial launch vehicles.
Ceres-1, and its sea launch version called Ceres-1S, is a four-stage launch vehicle that burns solid fuel in the first three stages, and a storable propellant in the fourth-stage. The fourth-stage can also be replaced with the company’s Eros orbital test platform.
The Ceres-1 launch vehicle can carry up to 400 kilograms to low Earth orbit or 300 kilograms to a 500-kilometer sun-synchronus orbit.
The first-stage is powered by a solid rocket motor that burns an undisclosed solid propellant to produce 60 tons of thrust. The second-stage also burns an undisclosed solid propellant to produce 28 tons of thrust. The third-stage is the final solid rocket stage, once again burning an undisclosed solid propellant, producing 8.8 tons of thrust. The fourth-stage burns a storable liquid propellant in an ‘attitude control thruster’ to generate 1 ton of thrust.
On the launchpad, Ceres-1 weighs 33,000 kilograms and stands 20 meters tall.