The Kuaizhou 11 rocket launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert at 8:15 AM on December 7 (Hanoi time), successfully placing a satellite into orbit.
(Video: Space)
After the launch, the experimental satellite of the VHF Data Exchange System (VDES) was detected in a Sun-Synchronous Orbit (SSO) at an altitude of approximately 745 km by the 18th Space Defense Squadron of the United States Space Force. This satellite is primarily used for testing communication and verifying critical VDES technologies as well as the Automatic Identification System (AIS).
The Kuaizhou 11 is operated by Expace, a subsidiary of the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC). This solid-fuel rocket model has been in development since 2015. The launch on December 7 marked the first successful flight of the Kuaizhou 11. Its first test launch occurred in July 2020 but ended in failure.
The Kuaizhou 11 rocket can carry 1,000 kg of payload to a Sun-Synchronous Orbit or 1,500 kg to Low Earth Orbit, making it five times more powerful than the smaller Kuaizhou 1A rocket.
The Kuaizhou 11 rocket carrying the experimental satellite into orbit on December 7.
Kuaizhou means “fast ship” in Chinese. This solid-fuel rocket takes less than four hours to transport from the assembly building to the launch site. In early November this year, NASA’s Artemis I mission’s pair of giant rockets and spacecraft took 8.5 hours to travel the 6.4 km distance from the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at Kennedy Space Center to Launch Pad 39B.
The mission on December 7 was China’s 57th launch in 2022, mostly conducted by the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT), including several missions to the Tiangong space station.
