Kuaizhou 1A

The launch was reported to be a CASIC/ExPace Kuaizhou-1A mission.

Kuaizhou-11 is the bigger sibling of Kuaizhou-1A from the same developer.

A CASIC/ExPace Kuaizhou-1A launch was scheduled for March 16 at about 04:10 UTC.

Similar satellites were launched on four Ceres-1S and a KZ-1A recently.

Tianqi-4A and Tianqi-4B were launched on December 7th on a Kuaizhou-1A from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center.

Tianqi-29, 30, 31, and 32 were launched on September 20th on a Kuaizhou-1A from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center.

Kuaizhou-1A launched JiaoTong VDES A/B from Jiuquan.

ExPace’s Kuaizhou-1A lifted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center at 17:00 pm China Standard Time on December 5th.

Kuaizhou-1A's first three stages burn an unspecified solid propellant, while the fourth stage uses liquid fuel for orbital insertion.

A Kuaizhou-1A rocket lifted off at 0900 UTC on the designated date.

The Kuaizhou-1A rocket successfully sent the VDES A and B satellites into orbit.

Kuaizhou-1A has a payload capacity of 450 kilograms to low Earth orbit, 360 kilograms to a 500-kilometer sun-synchronous orbit, and 300 kilograms to a 700-kilometer sun-synchronous orbit.

Kuaizhou-1A is one of the first commercial launch vehicles from China, developed by the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation and now manufactured by ExPace.

The Kuaizhou-1A has flown from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, and the Xichang Satellite Launch Center.

The launch of Kuaizhou-1A marked another successful flight of the upgraded 'Pro' variant for ExPace, which has delivered payloads for the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Pakistan.

Kuaizhou-1A is headed for sun-synchronous orbit carrying two satellites, VDES-A and VDES-B.

Kuaizhou-1A is believed to be 19.8 meters tall and has a fairing diameter of 1.8 meters.

This was the 31st Kuaizhou-1A mission and the 37th launch of the Kuaizhou series.

Expace successfully launched several KZ-1A rockets in 2024.