SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

China’s Commercial Rocket Launches Four Satellites from Sea

On September 5,China utilized a maritime launch platform to send a rocket into space from the waters surrounding Haiyang,a coastal city in the eastern province of Shandong,placing four satellites into planned orbit.

The commercial launch vehicle,CERES-1,blasted off at 05:34 p.m.(Beソing Time).The Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center conducted the offshore mission.

The rocket manufacturer,Galactic Energy,said it was the ninth flight and the first sea-based mission of theCERES-1series.The launch also makes it the first Chinese private company to complete a lift-off from the sea.

Compared with a land-based launch,the sea launch is a rela-tively newer method,having more flexibility,better adaptability,and more cost-effective services.Furthermore,flexible positioning of the launching and landing areas can ensure safe spent rocket stages.Other debris falls into the sea rather than on land close to populated areas.

These advantages offer rocket manufacturers compelling reasons to increase the frequency of sea launches in the future.

Aboard theCERES-1rocket were four satellites —Tianqi21-24— developed by Guodian Gaoke,a Beソing-based commercial scitech firm,which are part of the Tianqi low-Earth orbit Internet of Things constellation.

The 38-satellite constellation will commence operation in 2024.It will provide global data services for application scenarios such as emergency communications,ecological environment monitoring,and tower detection.

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