Jielong 1 Debut Flight Achieved Success

A new small launch vehicle,Jielong 1 (Smart Dragon 1),lifted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center at 12：11 Beijing time on August 17,2019,sending three microsatellites into their preset orbits.This marks the debut of Chinese Dragon series launch vehicle for commercial launch.The Dragon series is an important launch vehicle family following the Long March series launch vehicle.It is the first carrier rocket family dedicated for commercial launches.

Developed by the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT),the four-stage solid fuel rocket is 19.5 m long with maximum diameter of 1.2 m and liftoff mass of 23.1 t.Although Jielong 1 is the smallest carrier rocket in China in weight and size,its payload capacity is up to 200 kg to sun synchronous orbit,which is a solid propellant commercial launch vehicle with the highest delivery efficiency.It only took 18 months from development start to the maiden flight.A 1.1 m diameter,1.5 m long payload shroud and a 1.4 m×2 m shroud are available to meet the one satellite or multiple satellites launch demand.At present,Jielong 1 has been selected for 6 signed commercial contracts with nearly 30 intend launches.

Jielong 1 launch vehicle flying to space from the JSLC

The debut of Chinese Dragon series launch vehicle for commercial launch succeeded

The payloads of the mission are Qiancheng 1-01,Xingshidai 5 and Tianqi 2 satellites.The imaging payload onboard the Qiancheng 1-01 satellite was designed and manufactured by Beijing Institute of Space Mechanics and Electricity,CAST.Weighing less than 11 kg,the camera has the ability of obtaining 2 m resolution images from more than 500 km orbit.The camera features a flexible working mode and strong data acquisition ability,and will play an important role in the growth of China’s commercial remote sensing microsatellite constellations.(GAO Yiming/China Space News)