China’s Smart Dragon-1 rocket makes maiden flight as country eyes commercial satellite boom
- Country hopes to develop fleet of commercial satellites and developing suitable carriers will be key to achieving that goal
A Chinese government space agency successfully launched its first rocket meant for commercial use on Saturday as firms in the country compete to join a commercial satellite boom.
Smart Dragon-1 rocket, which weighs 23 tonnes and was developed by a unit of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, successfully delivered three satellites into orbit after a launch in Gansu province, state broadcaster CCTV said.
China eventually hopes to launch scores of commercial satellites that can offer services ranging from high-speed internet for aircraft to tracking coal shipments.
Reliable, low-cost and frequent rocket launches will be key for that.
Smart Dragon-1, whose research and development budget came from social capital rather than state funding, is a demonstration of China’s drive to commercialise the rockets sector, where more private rocket firm are allowed to enter the market to compete with each other, CCTV said.