Kinetica 1

Active

CAS Space (CAS)

July 27, 2022

Description

Kinetica 1 (also known as Lijian-1, Chinese: 力箭一号) is a Chinese solid-propellant light launch vehicle. It is capable of placing about 2 tons into low earth orbit and 1.5 tons into sun-synchronous orbit. It is developed by CAS Space, a subsidiary of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Kinetica 1 is a light launcher whose first stage seems to be derived from the DF-31 long-range intercontinental ballistic missile. It is 30 m high and has a diameter of 2.65 m, with a liftoff mass of 135 t. It's the largest Chinese solid propellant launcher to date, with four stages with a thrust of 200, 100, 50 and 10 tons respectively. The fairing has a diameter of 3.35 meters.

Specifications
  • Stages
    4
  • Length
    30.0 m
  • Diameter
    2.65 m
  • Fairing Diameter
    3.35 m
  • Launch Mass
    135.0 T
  • Thrust
    1961.0 kN
Family
  • Name
    Kinetica 1
  • Family
  • Variant
  • Alias
  • Full Name
    Kinetica 1
Payload Capacity
  • Launch Cost
  • Low Earth Orbit
    2000.0 kg
  • Geostationary Transfer Orbit
  • Direct Geostationary
  • Sun-Synchronous Capacity
    1500.0 kg

CAS Space

Commercial
None
CAS 2018

CAS Space is a spin-off company from the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) that is operating and plans to operate various launch vehicles of the Zhongke series.

Kinetica 1 | 6 satellites

CAS Space | China
Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China
May 21, 2025, 4:05 a.m.
Status: Launch Successful
Mission:

Carried 6 satellites to Sun-synchronous orbit, including commercial Earth observation satellites Taijing-3-04 & Taijing-4-02A: * Taijing-3-04 * Taijing-4-02A * Xingrui-11 * Xiguang-1 02 * Xingjiyuan-1 * Cube-108 001

Sun-Synchronous Orbit
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Kinetica 1 | DEAR-3 & 10 other satellites

CAS Space | China
Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China
Dec. 27, 2024, 1:03 a.m.
Status: Launch Failure
Mission:

Launched 11 satellites including AZSPACE's DEAR-3 prototype recoverable science experiment spacecraft and the French CASAA-Sat cubesat from the Marseille Astrophysics Laboratory.

Sun-Synchronous Orbit
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Kinetica 1 | 15 satellites

CAS Space | China
Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China
Nov. 11, 2024, 4:03 a.m.
Status: Launch Successful
Mission:

Launch of 15 satellites on share-ride to SSO: * Shiyan 26 A/B/C * Jilin-1 High Resolution-05B * Jilin-1 Platform-02A-03 * Yunyao-1 31-36 * Xiguang-1-04/05 * Tianyan-24 * Omani IRSS-1/OL-1

Sun-Synchronous Orbit
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Kinetica 1 | 5 satellites

CAS Space | China
Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China
Sept. 24, 2024, 11:33 p.m.
Status: Launch Successful
Mission:

Carried 5 satellites to Sun-synchronous orbit: * Zhongke-01/02 * Jilin-1 SAR-01A * Yunyao-21/22

Sun-Synchronous Orbit
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