Jilin-1 High Resolution 03D-08, 51 to 54 | Ceres-1

Lift Off Time
November 16, 2022 – 06:20 UTC | 14:20 BJT
Mission Name
Jilin-1 High Resolution 03D-08, 51 to 54
Launch Provider
(What rocket company launched it?)
Galactic Energy
Customer
(Who paid for this?)
Chang Guang Satellite Technology (CGST)
Rocket
Ceres-1
Launch Location
Site 95, Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, China
Payload mass
Approximately 210 kg, no more than 350 kg
Where did the satellites go?
Sun-Synchronous Orbit (SSO)
Did they attempt to recover the first stage?
No, this is not a capability of Ceres-1
Where did the first stage land?
It crashed into mainland China
Did they attempt to recover the fairings?
No, this is not a capability of Ceres-1
Were these fairings new?
Yes
This was the:
 4th Ceres-1 launch
2nd Ceres-1 launch of 2022
– 160th orbital launch attempt of 2022
Where to re-watch
Once available, an official replay will be listed here

How Did It Go?

Galactic Energy successfully launched five Jilin-1 High Resolution satellites into a Sun-Synchronous orbit atop their Ceres-1 launch vehicle. The rocket lifted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, in China. This mission marked the fourth launch of the Ceres-1 rocket.

Jilin-1 High Resolution 03D-08, 51 To 54 Mission

The Jilin-1 constellation is a set of high definition video remote sensing satellites in low-Earth polar orbit, operating at an altitude of 535 km. These satellites are designed and owned by the Chang Guang Satellite Technology Co. Ltd (CGST) located in Beijing. China would like to increase the number of satellites to 138 by the end of 2030. The constellation is China’s first consumer Earth observation satellite, used to help in disaster relief.

On this mission, aboard were five Jilin-1 High Resolution optical imaging satellites. The high-resolution satellites are based on the Jilin-1 Gaofen 03D satellite platform and have a resolution of 0.75 m.

Ceres-1

The Ceres-1 is a four stage privately developed rocket that is built, manufactured, and launched by Galactic Energy. The first three stages of the rocket utilize solid rocket motors (SRMs), which burn hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene (HTPB), the same propellant that Virgin Galactic uses in their SpaceShipTwo vehicle. The fourth stage uses a hypergolic propulsion system, which uses hydrazine. The use of a liquid fourth stage allows for the payloads to be placed in accurate orbits.

The rocket stands 19 m (62 ft) tall and is 1.4 m (4 ft 7 in) in diameter. This allows for the vehicle to play up to 350 kg (770 lb) into low-Earth orbit.

Ceres-1 is named after Ceres, the largest asteroid in the asteroid belt. This symbolizes one of the company’s main goals: asteroid mining.

Ceres-1 first launched on November 7, 2020, taking the Tianqi 11 satellite to a Sun-synchronous orbit (SSO). The maiden launch of the rocket made Galactic Energy the second private company in China to successfully put a satellite into orbit, and the fourth company to attempt it.

Ceres-1
The Ceres-1 (Credit: Galactic Energy)

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