JIUQUAN, Gansu: The rocket Kuaizhou-1A (KZ-1A) has sent three satellites into space in its first commercial mission on Monday.
The rocket, carrying the satellite JL-1 and two Cube Sats XY-S1 and Caton-1, blasted off from northwestern China’s Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center at around 12:11 p.m. Monday Beijing Time, according to a statement from the center.
The KZ-1A was developed from the Kuaizhou-1 rocket with improvements inadaptability. It is a low-cost solid-fuelled carrier rocket with high reliability and short preparation period and was designed to launch low-orbit satellites weighing under 300 kg.
The JL-1 is a multifunctional remote-sensing satellite providing high-definition video images which is expected to be used for land resource and forestry surveying, environmental protection, transport and disaster prevention and relief purposes.
The XY-S1 and Caton-1 are experimental satellites to test technologies of low-orbit narrow-band communication and VHF Data Exchange System (VDES) respectively.
A rocket technology company under the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation was responsible for the launch mission. The success of the mission marks the company’s capability of providing flexible, convenient
