China's commercial CERES-1 Y8 rocket launches new satellite

The CERES-1 Y8 carrier rocket carrying the Jilin-1 Kuanfu 02A satellite blasts off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China, Aug. 25, 2023. The commercial rocket blasted off at 12:59 p.m. (Beijing Time) from the launch site. The launch was the 8th flight mission to use the CERES-1 rocket series. (Photo by Wang Jiangbo/Xinhua)

JIUQUAN, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- China on Friday launched a CERES-1 Y8 carrier rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China, sending one new satellite into a planned orbit.

The commercial rocket blasted off at 12:59 p.m. (Beijing Time) from the launch site, carrying the Jilin-1 Kuanfu 02A satellite.

The launch was the eighth flight mission to use the CERES-1 rocket series, and the fourth consecutive launch mission of the CERES-1 rocket series this year.

Developed by the Beijing-based Galactic Energy, CERES-1 is a small-scale solid-propellant carrier rocket capable of sending micro-satellites into orbit. With the capacity to carry multiple satellites, it can serve various tailored launch missions.

The rocket has a total length of about 20 meters, with a takeoff weight of 33 tonnes. It can carry a payload of 300 kg to a sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of 500 km.

The Jilin-1 Kuanfu 02A satellite was developed by Chang Guang Satellite Technology Co., Ltd. It can provide images with a width of more than 150 km and a resolution of 0.5 meters.

This satellite will work with the previously launched satellites of the Jilin-1 family to form a constellation, providing remote sensing data and services to fields like land survey, smart city construction, agriculture and forestry. 

The CERES-1 Y8 carrier rocket carrying the Jilin-1 Kuanfu 02A satellite blasts off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China, Aug. 25, 2023. The commercial rocket blasted off at 12:59 p.m. (Beijing Time) from the launch site. The launch was the 8th flight mission to use the CERES-1 rocket series. (Photo by Wang Jiangbo/Xinhua)

The CERES-1 Y8 carrier rocket carrying the Jilin-1 Kuanfu 02A satellite blasts off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China, Aug. 25, 2023. The commercial rocket blasted off at 12:59 p.m. (Beijing Time) from the launch site. The launch was the 8th flight mission to use the CERES-1 rocket series. (Photo by Wang Jiangbo/Xinhua)

The CERES-1 Y8 carrier rocket carrying the Jilin-1 Kuanfu 02A satellite blasts off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China, Aug. 25, 2023. The commercial rocket blasted off at 12:59 p.m. (Beijing Time) from the launch site. The launch was the 8th flight mission to use the CERES-1 rocket series. (Photo by Wang Jiangbo/Xinhua)