Chutian-2 01 & 02

Overview

Destination: Sun-Synchronous Orbit
Mission: Earth Science

Sun-Synchronous Orbit Launch Area 130 Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

2 satellites built by the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC) for testing operations of Very Low Earth Orbit (VLEO) satellites for Earth observation purposes.

Updates

Cosmic_Penguin • Nov. 9, 2025, 4:10 a.m.

Launch success.


Cosmic_Penguin • Nov. 7, 2025, 2:11 a.m.

Moved back up to November 9 per NOTAMs.


Cosmic_Penguin • Nov. 6, 2025, 7:53 a.m.

Delayed to November 14 per new NOTAMs.


Cosmic_Penguin • Nov. 3, 2025, 5:35 a.m.

Added launch per NOTAMs; Payload identities uncertain.


Kinetica 1

Family:
Configuration:

Kinetica 1 (also known as Lijian-1, Chinese: 力箭一号) is a Chinese solid-propellant light launch vehicle. It is capable of placing about 2 tons into low earth orbit and 1.5 tons into sun-synchronous orbit. It is developed by CAS Space, a subsidiary of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Kinetica 1 is a light launcher whose first stage seems to be derived from the DF-31 long-range intercontinental ballistic missile. It is 30 m high and has a diameter of 2.65 m, with a liftoff mass of 135 t. It's the largest Chinese solid propellant launcher to date, with four stages with a thrust of 200, 100, 50 and 10 tons respectively. The fairing has a diameter of 3.35 meters.

See Details
Specifications
  • Stages
    4
  • Length
    30.0 m
  • Diameter
    2.65 m
  • Fairing Diameter
    3.35 m
  • Launch Mass
    135.0 T
  • Thrust
    1961.0 kN
Family
  • Name
    Kinetica 1
  • Family
  • Variant
  • Alias
  • Full Name
    Kinetica 1
Payload Capacity
  • Launch Cost
  • Low Earth Orbit
    2000.0 kg
  • Geostationary Transfer Orbit
  • Direct Geostationary
  • Sun-Synchronous Capacity
    1500.0 kg

CAS Space

CAS Space

(CAS)

Founded: 2018 Successes: 15 Failures: 1 Pending: 0

Agency Type:

CAS Space is a spin-off company from the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) that is operating and plans to operate various launch vehicles of the Zhongke series.

INFO WIKI
SpaceNews

China breaks annual launch record with VLEO Chutian and Shiyan technology test launches

China conducted a pair of solid rocket launches late Saturday, seeing the country surpass its previous record for orbital launch attempts in a calendar year. The post China breaks annual launch record with VLEO Chutian and Shiyan technolo…

NASASpaceflight

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This week’s launch manifest will feature nine missions launching on seven different rockets, including the… The post Launch Roundup: Ariane 6 and New Glenn set to launch during busy week appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com.

Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

Launch Area 130


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