China’s Galactic Energy Ceres-1 Rocket Failed During Space Launch, Resulting in Loss of a Commercial Remote-Sensing Satellite

Chinese commercial rocket firm Galactic Energy experienced its first failure with its 10th rocket launch attempt.

Failed Satellite Launch

On September 21, the Ceres-1 rocket from Chinese launch company Galactic Energy was scheduled for a lift-off from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China at 12:59 a.m. EDT. The vehicle carried the Jilin-1 Gaofen-04B satellite for the remote-sensing company Changguang Satellite Technology (CGST).

However, the satellite did not make it to orbit as planned. Airspace closure notices pointed to a rocket launch attempt, but the window passed without notification of a launch, which would generally follow within an hour of liftoff.

Roughly six hours after the failed attempt, Galactic Energy posted a statement on the social network WeChat, explaining that the rocket flew abnormally, which resulted in a failed launch mission. The specific reasons are still further analyzed and investigated by the company, and it expressed sincere apologies to its customers.

This failure is the first for the country so far in 2023. Since November 2021, all of its nine previous launches have been successful. Between July 22 and September 5, Galactic Energy had been executing a high-density period of 43 launches, carrying out four missions.

Meanwhile, this mishap was the second failed mission in just two days for a small-satellite launcher. On September 19, the Electron vehicle from California-based company Rocket Lab encountered an anomaly that resulted in the loss of one of the radar Earth-observation satellites of Capella Space.

Orbital Rocket for Commercial Market

Ceres-1 is a launch vehicle from private space launch enterprise Galactic Energy, also known as Beijing Xinghe Dongli Space Technology Co. Ltd. The same company develops the Pallas-1 and two orbital rockets. This small solid-fuel orbital rocket was designed for the commercial market.

The four-stage space vehicle measures 62 feet (19 meters) tall and 5 feet (1.4 meters) wide. It has a take-off mass of 33 tons (30,000 kilograms) and can lift 880 pounds (400 kilograms) of load to low Earth orbit (LEO) or 661 pounds (300 kilograms) to a 500-kilometer-altitude sun-synchronous orbit (SEO).

The rocket consists of three solid-fuel stages that use hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene fuel topped by a liquid-fueled stage. Its maiden flight took place in November 2020.

On September 5, Ceres-1 made a world record by launching the first rocket from a mobile sea platform off the coast of Haiyang, Shandong province. As a result, Galactic Energy has become the first commercial space company to lift off a satellite using technologies that have never been attempted before. This was considered a step that could boost the country's space launch capabilities.

The historic event carried Tianqi Constellation satellites in a mission named "The Little Mermaid." Compared to land launches, sea launches provide the advantage of selecting lift-off and landing locations. It also enhances the efficiency and safety of each satellite lift off while providing greater flexibility.

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