Kuaizhou Aerospace recently announced that the Kuaizhou-11 Y3 carrier rocket has completed all assembly and testing work at its Wuhan base and successfully passed its factory quality review. The rocket will soon be transported to the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center for a dual-satellite mission carrying Tianyi-51 and Tianyi-52 into orbit. The official launch window has yet to be announced.<\/p>\n
This will be the company\u2019s first launch since ExPace officially rebranded as Kuaizhou Aerospace. It will mark a key debut for the new brand and signal the company\u2019s formal transition into a new phase of market-oriented development.<\/p>\n
Of the two satellites scheduled for launch, Tianyi-51 is also known as Caiyun SAR01 and is an important component of Yunnan\u2019s Caiyun Constellation. The satellite was jointly developed by the Yunnan Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources, Yunnan Geology and Mineral Resources Group, and Spacety.<\/p>\n
Caiyun SAR01 is a high-performance, wide-swath C-band radar satellite capable of all-weather, day-and-night Earth observation. It carries a space-based edge-computing node that supports real-time onboard imaging and intelligent image processing.<\/p>\n
The constellation\u2019s Optical 01 satellite has already entered orbit, while Hyperspectral 01 is awaiting launch. Once Caiyun SAR01 reaches orbit, the Caiyun Constellation will possess three complementary remote-sensing capabilities: optical, hyperspectral and radar imaging.<\/p>\n
Limited public information is currently available about Tianyi-52, and neither its payload nor its intended applications have been disclosed.<\/p>\n
The Kuaizhou-11 assigned to the mission is a Chinese medium-lift solid-propellant carrier rocket. It measures approximately 25 meters in length, has a body diameter of 2.2 meters and a liftoff mass of 78 tonnes. The rocket uses three solid-propellant stages combined with a liquid upper stage.<\/p>\n
Kuaizhou-11 can carry up to 1.5 tonnes into low Earth orbit and at least one tonne into a 700-kilometer Sun-synchronous orbit. Extensive use of carbon-fiber composites reduces the rocket\u2019s structural mass, while its payload capacity is approximately five times that of Kuaizhou-1A.<\/p>\n
Built around technologies including integrated satellite-launch vehicle operations and grid-fin control, Kuaizhou-11 is designed primarily for speed. Its mobile testing and integration, mobile launch and cloud-based mobile tracking, telemetry and command systems eliminate the need for complex fixed launch infrastructure. These capabilities enable rapid integration and responsive access to orbit, making the rocket suitable for emergency missions and batch constellation deployment.<\/p>\n
Kuaizhou-11 has maintained a high launch cadence this year, completing two missions in March and June. With the Y3 rocket now through its factory review, it will travel from Wuhan to Jiuquan for launch-site testing before awaiting liftoff.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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