Beijing-based rocket maker Galactic Energy has achieved a significant milestone by launching the CERES-1 Y16 rocket on Monday, marking China's first commercial rocket launch of 2025.
The CERES-1 Y16 carrier rocket blasted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China at 6:11 p.m. on January 20, on a mission aptly named \"On Your Shoulders.\" The rocket successfully delivered five satellites into a 535-kilometer sun-synchronous orbit, including the Yunyao-1 37 to 40 satellites and the JTX A-05 satellite.
This launch represents the 16th successful mission of the CERES-1 rocket series, which has now sent a total of 63 satellites into their designated orbits. Notably, the CERES-1 Y16 is the first rocket manufactured and assembled at Galactic Energy's new research and development and production base in Ziyang, Sichuan Province, showcasing the company's expanded capabilities.
The four Yunyao-1 satellites are equipped with Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) occultation detection payloads. These advanced instruments enable the collection of vital atmospheric data, including temperature, humidity, pressure, and ionospheric electron density. Such data are crucial for improving meteorological observations and have promising applications in verifying demonstration scenarios for satellite internet constellation systems in industries like mining.
The JTX A-05 satellite carries a hyperspectral camera payload designed to acquire high-resolution remote sensing images. The data obtained from this satellite will serve multiple fields, such as environmental monitoring, industrial emissions detection, gas leakage identification, agricultural surveillance, mineral exploration, forest management, and urban planning.
Looking ahead, Galactic Energy is actively developing the CERES-2, a solid carrier rocket with a payload capacity of 1.6 tonnes. According to Meng Xianbo, the company's Chief Government Affairs Officer, the CERES-2 is expected to conduct four launches in 2025, with its maiden flight targeted for June. In addition, the company's reusable rocket, the Pallas-1, has completed the development of most key technologies and is anticipated to have its maiden flight in the first half of this year, as disclosed by founder and CEO Liu Baiqi at the Airshow China 2024.
Reference(s):
CERES-1 Soars: China's first commercial rocket launch of 2025
cgtn.com
