Galactic Energy carried out the first private space mission in China in 2026 on Friday, successfully launching its Ceres-1 carrier rocket from a sea-based platform and placing four commercial satellites into orbit, the company said.
The solid-fuel rocket lifted off at 4:10 a.m. from a mobile launch platform in the Yellow Sea, off China’s eastern Shandong province, and delivered the satellites into a low-Earth orbit at an altitude of about 850 kilometres, according to a company statement.
The satellites were built by Guodian Gaoke for its Tianqi constellation, which now comprises 41 satellites and has achieved global coverage. The network supports internet-of-things data services and has been applied in sectors including forestry, agriculture, tourism, power generation and environmental protection, Galactic Energy said.
The launch marked the sixth sea-based mission for the Ceres-1 rocket, which first flew in November 2020 from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. It was the second privately developed Chinese rocket to reach orbit, following i-Space’s SQX-1.
Standing around 20 metres tall and weighing 33 tonnes at liftoff, the Ceres-1 can carry up to 300 kg of payload to a 500-km sun-synchronous orbit, or 350 kg to a 200-km low-Earth orbit. To date, 21 of its 23 missions have been successful, placing 89 commercial satellites into space, the company said.
Galactic Energy said it is preparing for the debut flight of its larger Ceres-2 solid-fuel rocket from Jiuquan later this year. Other Chinese private launch firms, including Orienspace, Deep Blue Aerospace and Space Pioneer, are also planning maiden flights of new rockets.
Separately, China launched a Long March-2C rocket on Thursday, placing Algeria’s AlSat-3A remote-sensing satellite into orbit, according to China Great Wall Industry. The mission underscores growing space cooperation between China and Algeria, following earlier satellite launches between the two countries.
