China's private rocket successfully launched for the first time at sea! Ceres One | Private Rocket
At 17:34 on September 5th, with the support of the offshore launch team from Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, private rocket company Xinghe Power Aerospace from Beijing successfully completed the launch mission of the Ceres 1 sea launched carrier rocket in the Yellow Sea area, successfully sending the 21 to 24 stars of the Tianqi constellation into the predetermined orbit of 800 kilometers. This is the first time a Chinese private rocket company has successfully launched a sea launch mission.
Previously, the Ceres 1 carrier rocket successfully launched 8 consecutive land launches. Unlike land launch, launching satellites at sea is a new mode with strong flexibility, good task adaptability, and excellent launch economy. It can flexibly select launch points and landing areas, meet various orbital payload launch needs, and effectively solve the long-term safety concerns of the outside world. However, due to the high technical difficulty, only a few countries in the world have the ability to implement.
This is the first domestic private rocket to be launched at sea, as well as the world's first launch without relying on a land sea universal mobile platform. It is also the world's first solid rocket to be launched at sea without guidance. The domestic commercial aerospace industry has entered an 800 kilometer inclined orbit for the first time. The world's first rocket to adopt a high-precision navigation scheme with offshore vertical self alignment and online misalignment angle correction. The world's first solid rocket to use a non pyrotechnic locking release mechanism.
In terms of technological development, the Ceres rocket series has also made many innovations, such as the integration technology of rocket final stage structure, power, and electrical integration, high-precision navigation technology for vertical self alignment and online misalignment angle correction of offshore moving bases, and low-cost and no reliance on land sea universal transfer launch vehicle technology.
The person in charge of Xinghe Power Aerospace said that this time, the successful experience of land launch will be further extended to sea launch. In response to the dynamic base launch environment under sea shaking conditions, the Ceres 1 sea launch carrier rocket will use unguided thermal launch for the first time. Compared to guided launch methods such as cylindrical catapults and launchers, the sea launch carrier rocket continues to use land transfer launch vehicles for thermal launch. The launch vehicle is fixed after boarding the ship, and only a magnesium belt locking mechanism is added at the tail end of the rocket. The structure is simple, the operation is convenient, and the requirements for ground support conditions are relatively low. The magnesium belt locking mechanism ensures the vertical safety of the rocket under shaking conditions before ignition, and can be ablated and unlocked after ignition, ensuring reliable takeoff of the rocket.
The 21 to 24 stars of the Tianqi constellation are low orbit data acquisition satellites developed by Beijing Guodian High tech Technology Co., Ltd. They are a component of the Tianqi constellation. The constellation is planned to be deployed and operated in 2024, consisting of 38 satellites and several ground stations. It is a "low orbit satellite Internet of Things constellation" that can provide global coverage, quasi real-time low orbit satellite Internet of Things data services, and build a low orbit satellite Internet of Things ecosystem that integrates heaven and earth. Since the first satellite launch and operation in 2018, State Grid High tech has successfully deployed and operated 21 Tianqi low orbit satellite IoT satellites. With the continuous launch of satellites following the Apocalypse, by June 2024, the Apocalypse constellation will be able to achieve continuous coverage 24 hours a day.
"This mission has verified the safety technology and wide platform adaptability of the Ceres 1 carrier rocket for thermal launch at sea, which can provide more comprehensive and convenient launch services for subsequent commercial satellite users." The relevant person in charge said that in the future, the number of Ceres 1 carrier rocket launches at sea will gradually increase, keeping pace with the frequency of land launches, further promoting the continuous improvement of high-density launch capabilities.
