Gravity-1 (Chinese: 引力一号) is a solid-propellant expendable medium-lift launch vehicle designed, manufactured and launched by Chinese aerospace company Orienspace. It can carry a payload of up to 6.5 tonnes (14,000 lb) to LEO or 4.2 tonnes (9,300 lb) to SSO, enabling the deployment of large-scale satellite constellations. The rocket has a height of 30 meters, a take-off weight of 400 tonnes, a take-off thrust of 600 tonnes,[1] and a fairing diameter of 4.2 meters.[2] Its maiden launch was conducted from a sea launch platform in the Yellow Sea on January 11, 2024, breaking records as both the world's most powerful solid-fuel carrier rocket and China's most powerful commercial launch vehicle to date.[3] Large pieces of debris were seen during the launch, which carried 3 Yunyao-1 meteorological satellites built by the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology, as part of the planned 90-satellite Yunyao constellation.[3][2]
Gravity-1 consists of seven solid rocket motors (SRB) in total. The first four side-mounted SRBs are ignited on the ground, while three core boosters are air-lit in sequence. The launch cost for Gravity-1 is no higher than US$39 million. Gravity-1 offers a quick-response-time of only five hours between manufacturing completion and launch. Orienspace has signed contracts for the launch of more than one hundred satellites.[4]
List of launches
edit| Serial number | Flight number | Date (UTC) | Launch site | Payload | Orbit | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gravity-1 Y1 | 11 January 2024 05:30 UTC |
Special converted barge (Dong Fang Hang Tian Gang) Offshore waters of Haiyang Port |
Yunyao-1 18-20 weather satellites | LEO (50° inclination, 500km circular) | Success[3] |
| 2 | Gravity-1 Y2 | 30 November 2024 | Special converted barge (Dong Fang Hang Tian Gang) Offshore waters of Haiyang Port |
Ganzhou 1 Xingshidai-24 TBA |
LEO | Planned[3] |
| 3 | Gravity-1 Y3 | Q4 2024 | Special converted barge (Dong Fang Hang Tian Gang) Offshore waters of Haiyang Port |
TBA | LEO | Planned[3] |
References
edit- ^ Mansfield, Simon (2024-01-12). "China's Gravity 1 sets record for solid rocket fuels in maiden launch". Space Daily. Retrieved 2024-04-29.
- ^ a b Sesnic, Trevor (2024-01-09). "Maiden Flight | Gravity-1". Everyday Astronaut. Retrieved 2024-04-29.
- ^ a b c d e Jones, Andrew (11 January 2024). "Orienspace breaks Chinese commercial launch records with Gravity-1 solid rocket". SpaceNews. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
- ^ Gravity-1 rocket explained. Retrieved 2024-04-07 – via www.youtube.com.
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