Chinese launch company Galactic Energy experienced its first mission failure on Thursday (Sept. 21), resulting in the unsuccessful deployment of a commercial remote-sensing satellite.
Chinese launch company Galactic Energy experienced its first mission failure on Thursday (Sept. 21), resulting in the unsuccessful deployment of a commercial remote-sensing satellite.
Galactic Energy’s Ceres-1 rocket took off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center at 12:59 a.m. EDT (0459 GMT). On board was the Jilin-1 Gaofen-04B satellite for the remote-sensing firm Changguang Satellite Technology, as reported by SpaceNews.
However, the satellite did not reach its intended orbit.
Galactic Energy addressed the situation on the social media platform WeChat, stating, “The rocket flew abnormally and the launch mission failed. The specific reasons are being further analyzed and investigated.”
The Ceres-1 is a four-stage rocket standing at approximately 62 feet (19 meters) tall, with a capacity to transport 880 pounds (400 kilograms) to low Earth orbit (LEO). Since its debut in November 2020, the vehicle had executed nine successful flights prior to this incident.
This incident marks China’s first mission failure of the year, following a streak of 43 consecutive successful launches in 2023, as noted by SpaceNews. Interestingly, it also represents the second failure for a small-satellite launcher in just two days; Rocket Lab, a California-based company, encountered an anomaly with its Electron vehicle on Tuesday (Sept. 19), resulting in the loss of one of Capella Space’s radar Earth-observation satellites.
Galactic Energy is not solely focused on small payloads with the Ceres-1. The company is concurrently developing a larger rocket named the Pallas-1, designed to transport approximately 11,000 pounds (5,000 kg) of payload to LEO.
The inaugural flight of Pallas-1 is scheduled for next year. While the initial iteration of the rocket will be expendable, Galactic Energy aims to establish reusability for the first stage, akin to SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket. The company has set its sights on 2025 for the launch of a reusable Pallas-1.
This setback underscores the challenges inherent in rocket development and highlights the industry’s ongoing pursuit of innovative solutions to ensure reliable access to space. The investigation into the anomaly will yield valuable insights for future missions.