China is developing a new commercial rocket that can carry 20 satellites

The small-lift vehicle will be ‘strongly competitive’, according to a scientist on the project
Developer says it will be able to transport up to 1.5 tonnes to an altitude of 500km and its first launch is expected next year

Space

Liu Zhen

Published: 10:00pm, 3 Mar 2021

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China will launch a new solid-fuel rocket for the commercial market next year that will be able to transport 20 satellites at a time, according to state media.

The Jielong-3, or Smart Dragon-3 – a small-lift launch vehicle – will operate at a competitive cost per mass of US$10,000 a kilogram, Jiang Jie, a rocket scientist with the rocket’s developer, the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), told Xinhua on Wednesday.

That compares to its predecessor, the Jielong-1, whose maiden flight in 2019 was priced at US$30,000 per kilogram.

Heavy-lift rockets like the SpaceX Falcon 9 have managed to reduce costs to just US$2,720 per kilogram for low-Earth orbit, but it is usually more expensive to send the same payload into space on a smaller launch vehicle. For example, the US-made Minotaur IV costs about US$30,000 a kilogram and the Electron is a little cheaper at US$23,000 a kilogram.

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China’s small-lift rockets – the Kuaizhou-1 and Long March-11 – already operate at about US$10,000 per kilogram but the Jielong-3 will be significantly bigger at 2.64 metres wide and 140 tonnes.

The developer said it would be able to carry up to 1.5 tonnes, or 20 satellites, into sun-synchronous orbit, or an altitude of about 500km. The Jielong-1 can transport just 200kg, while the Long March-11 can handle 350kg, and the Kuaizhou-1 430kg.

“It’s targeting the growing market demand for large-scale launches to form commercial satellite constellations,” Jiang was quoted as saying. “The Jielong-3 will be strongly competitive – it’s economical, high-performing, reliable, adaptable and the preparation cycle is short.”

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China Rocket, a subsidiary of the CASC’s China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, started making Jielong launch vehicles in 2019.

It began the Jielong-3 project in late 2020, and its first launch – from a platform at sea – is planned for the first half of next year, according to the report.

“The Jielong-3 will add more variety to China’s commercial rockets and assist the development of our commercial space programme,” Jiang said.

A Long March-11 rocket carrying nine satellites lifts off from a platform in the Yellow Sea in September. Photo: Xinhua

China has stepped up its space programme in recent years, including building a space station, its first mission to Mars that aims to land a probe on the red planet in May, and a plan to land astronauts on the moon by 2030. Last year it sent the final satellite of its BeiDou global navigation network into orbit.

To fulfil its space ambitions, work is under way to upgrade and develop new launch vehicles like the Long March rockets. They range from small-lift rockets to heavy-lift vehicles used for the lunar and space station programmes and a superheavy-lift rocket that is expected to be ready around 2028 and will be used for China’s first interplanetary mission.

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