Aerospace startup OrienSpace conducted the maiden flight of its Gravity-1 launch vehicle today, the 11th of January. The launch vehicle lifted off from its sea launch platform at 13:30 pm, Beijing Time, off the coast of Haiyang, located in the Shandong province.
The Gravity-1 rocket carried three Yunyao-1 weather satellites into low Earth orbit as part of a planned constellation of ninety satellites. The launch also made Gravity-1 the most powerful solid-fuel rocket to reach orbit.
Speaking to CGTN's Wu Lei, OrienSpace's Co-CEO and Co-Founder, Yao Song, Gravity-1 is believed to be the cheapest commercial rocket in China. The company also believes the rocket is well suited to launch commercial and government constellations once Gravity-1 proves its reliability.
Continuing speaking to Wu Lei, Yao Song said that the Gravity-2 rocket would perform recovery tests in a month and a half with a test flight in two months!
Currently, OrienSpace is the fifth aerospace company in China to reach orbit with its own rocket following iSpace, Galactic Energy, Space Pioneer, and LandSpace.
What is Gravity-1?
Gravity-1 is a three-stage launch vehicle that burns solid fuel in all of its stages. The rocket can also be configured to include a kick-stage that burns rocket-grade kerosene and liquid oxygen using a liquid rocket engine.
The Gravity-1 launch vehicle can carry up to 6,500 kilograms to low Earth orbit or 4,200 kilograms to a 500-kilometer sun-synchronous orbit.
The first-stage is comprised of four solid rocket boosters burning an unspecified solid propellant to generate 150 tons of thrust each. The exact burn time has not yet been shared publicly.
The second-stage is a high-altitude optimized solid rocket booster burning the same unspecified solid propellant to generate an unknown amount of thrust. The exact burn time has also not yet been shared publicly.
The third-stage is another high-altitude optimized solid rocket booster burning the same unspecified solid propellant to generate an unknown amount of thrust. The exact burn time has once again not yet been shared publicly.
Gravity-1 is manufactured and launched by OrienSpace and weighs 405,000 kilograms when on its launch platform. When on its launch platform the rocket is 30 meters tall.
Who is OrienSpace?
OrienSpace Technology Co Ltd, commonly called OrienSpace, is a Chinese space launch provider based out of the city of Beijing and was founded in 2020.
The company plans to operate its Gravity series of rockets to serve both commercial and government customers.
