“Kuizhou” [1] [2] ( Chinese trade. 快 舟 , pinyin : kuài zhōu , pall .: Khuai zhou , literally: “fast boat”) is a Chinese solid rocket booster designed for cheap and fast launch into orbit small satellites.
The missile was created in 2009 by in cooperation with the Harbin Institute of Technology based on the Dongfeng-21 medium-range missile. The commercial version of the rocket was called Feitian-1 (FT-1), it was presented at Zhuhai Airshow 2014.
Launch of the launch vehicle is carried out using a mobile launcher and can be performed from any cosmodrome in China. Preparation for launch requires only 6 people and can be completed within 24 hours.
The first launch with a payload took place on September 25, 2013.
In mid-February 2016, CASIC founded Expace Technology, a company that will provide commercial satellite launch services to customers around the world [3] . It is stated that the future version of the launch vehicle, Kuaizhou-11, will be able to launch loads of up to one ton into orbit 700 km high [2] .
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Kuizhou-1 (KZ-1)
The version of the launch vehicle used for the first two launches was three solid fuel stages of a solid fuel rocket equipped with an upper stage equipped with a liquid rocket engine , which was integrated with the payload and did not undock after entering orbit [4] . The height of the rocket is about 20 m, the launch weight is about 30 tons. The first and second stage have a diameter of 1.4 m, the third stage and the head fairing are 1.2 m. The mass of the payload that is brought out is about 430 kg per 500-km solar-synchronous orbit [4] .
Kuizhou-1A (KZ-1A)
A commercial version of the launch vehicle, also known as the FT-1. It uses the same 3 solid fuel stages, but the upper stage is not combined with the payload and can display from 4 to 6 satellites in different orbits during one launch. A variant of the head fairing with a diameter of 1.4 m can be used. It allows to bring up to 300 kg into a low Earth orbit , into a sun-synchronous orbit with a height of 500 km - 250 kg, a height of 700 km - 200 kg. [5] [6] .
Kuizhou-11 (KZ-11)
The developed version of the launch vehicle with a diameter of 2.2 meters and a launch weight of 78 tons will be able to output up to 1 ton on a MTR with a height of 700 km. The first launch is expected in 2017 [2] [6] .
Kuizhou-21 (KZ-21)
Also in development is a solid fuel engine with a diameter of 3 m for a launch vehicle, which they plan to put into operation by 2025 [6] .
Launches
| No. | Date, Time ( UTC ) | Version | Cosmodrome | Payload | Type PN | Orbit | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| one | September 25, 2013, 04:37 | KZ-1 | Jiuquan | Kuizhou-1 | Satellite remote sensing | DOE 275 × 293 km, 96.7 ° | Success [7] |
| 2 | November 21, 2014 06:37 | KZ-1 | Jiuquan | Kuizhou-2 | Satellite remote sensing | DOE 269 × 304 km, 96.5 ° | Success [8] |
| 3 | January 9, 2017 04:11 | KZ-1A | Jiuquan | JL-1, XY-S1, Caton-1 | Remote sensing satellite and 2 cubsat | MTR 528 × 543 km, 97.5 ° | Success [9] [10] |
| four | September 29, 2018 04:13 | KZ-1A | Jiuquan | CentiSpace-1-S1 | Success | ||
| Planned launches | |||||||
| 2019 | KZ-11 | n / a | n / a | n / a | n / a | - | |
See also
- List of missile types
Notes
- ↑ Cosmonautics News Magazine - Kuaizhou-1A Launched in China novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru. Date of treatment July 22, 2017.
- ↑ 1 2 3 Media: commercial launches of the Kuizhou-11 launch vehicle will begin in 2017 . Date of appeal September 12, 2016.
- ↑ The first commercial base of the space industry will be created in China . TASS (September 13, 2016).
- ↑ 1 2 China's 'Speedy Vessel' races into Orbit on first Commercial Satellite Deployment . Spaceflight101 (January 9, 2017).
- ↑ Chinese Kuaizhou-1A rocket launches several small satellites . NASA Spaceflight (January 9, 2017).
- ↑ 1 2 3 Kuai Zhou (Fast Vessel ) (inaccessible link) . China Space Report . Date of treatment January 9, 2017. Archived March 11, 2018.
- ↑ Orbiting on the Edge - China's Kuaizhou-1 Satellite . Spaceflight101 (November 29, 2013).
- ↑ Kuaizhou Rocket successfully launches KZ-2, China's second 'Speedy Vessel' . Spaceflight101 (November 21, 2014).
- ↑ Kuaizhou rocket lifts off on first commercial mission . Spaceflight Now (January 9, 2017).
- ↑ China launches commercial rocket mission Kuaizhou-1A . Xinhua (January 9, 2017).