China's Kinetica-2 rocket completes maiden flight

The Kinetica-2 Y1 rocket lifted off on Monday from the Dongfeng Commercial Space Innovation Pilot Zone in northwest China, sending three satellites into the planned orbit. They are the New March-01 Technology Demonstration Satellite, the New March-02 Satellite and the TS-01 Educational Satellite.

Developed by Chinese commercial space firm CAS Space, the Kinetica-2 is China's first rocket to adopt a Common Booster Core (CBC) configuration. It has a liftoff thrust of 753 tonnes and a payload capacity of 12 tonnes to low Earth orbit.

The New March-02 satellite, also known as the Qingzhou prototype test spacecraft, was designed by the Innovation Academy for Microsatellites of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Weighing only 4.2 tonnes, the spacecraft adopts a single-module integrated configuration, allowing it to flexibly adapt to various launch vehicles with excellent launch compatibility.

This flight test carries 27 projects, ranging from technical reserves and on-orbit verification to scientific exploration and educational exhibits, with a total payload weight of 1.02 tonnes. A series of in-orbit technical experiments will be conducted at altitudes between 200 and 600 kilometers.

Upon entering orbit, the Qingzhou prototype will verify key technologies for in-orbit flight. Subsequently, the Qingzhou flight-model cargo spacecraft will dock with the China Space Station to provide upward cargo transportation services.