Kuaizhou, family of orbital launch vehicles, China

[Administrator]

Kuaizhou-1A launches Tianmu-1 11-14

Dec 25, 2023

A Kuaizhou-1A (KZ-1A) launch vehicle launched four Tianmu-1 meteorological satellites from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, Gansu Province, China, on 25 December 2023, at 01:00 UTC (09:00 local time). According to official sources, the Tianmu-1 11, 12, 13 and 14 satellites (天目一号星座11星、12星、13星、14星) have entered the planned orbits and “will be mainly used to provide commercial meteorological data services”.

 

[Administrator]

Kuaizhou-1A launches Tianmu-1 19-22

Dec 27, 2023

A Kuaizhou-1A (KZ-1A) launch vehicle launched four Tianmu-1 meteorological satellites from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, China, on 27 December 2023, at 06:50 UTC (14:50 local time). According to official sources, the Tianmu-1 19, 20, 21 and 22 satellites [天目一号星座19星 (西永微电园3号), 20星 (贵安01星), 21星 (贵安02星), 22星] have entered the planned orbits and “will be mainly used to provide commercial meteorological data services”.

 

[Administrator]

Kuaizhou-1A launches Tianmu-1 15-18

Jan 5, 2024

A Kuaizhou-1A (KZ-1A) launch vehicle launched four Tianmu-1 meteorological satellites from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, China, on 5 January 2024, at 11:20 UTC (19:20 local time). According to official sources, the Tianmu-1 15, 16, 17 and 18 satellites [天目一号星座15星、16星、17星、18星] have entered the planned orbits and “will be mainly used to provide commercial meteorological data services”.

 

[Administrator]

Kuaizhou-1A launches Tianxing-1-02

Jan 11, 2024

A Kuaizhou-1A (KZ-1A) launch vehicle launched the Tianxing-1 test satellite from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, China, on 11 January 2024, at 03:52 UTC (11:52 local time). According to official sources, the Tianxing-1-02 satellite (天行一号02星) has successfully entered the predetermined orbit and will be “mainly used for experiments such as space environment detection”.

 

[Administrator]

Kuaizhou-11 launches 4 satellites

May 21, 2024

A Kuaizhou-11 solid-propellant launch vehicle (快舟十一号固体运载火箭, KZ-11) launched Wuhan-1 (武汉一号) and three other small satellites (“Ultra-low orbit technology experimental satellite”/超低轨技术试验卫星, TianYan-22/天雁-22, LingQue-3-01/灵鹊三号01) from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, China, on 21 May 2024, at 04:15 UTC (12:15 local time). According to official sources, the satellites entered the planned orbits. This is the second successful launch of the KZ-11 rocket (快舟十一), developed by ExPace Technology Corporation, a subsidiary of China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC).

 

[Administrator]

Kuaizhou-1A launches Tianqi-29 ~ 32

Sep 20, 2024

A Kuaizhou-1A (KZ-1A) launch vehicle launched four Tianqi satellites (Tianqi-29 ~ 32, 天启星座29～32 ) from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center, Sichuan Province, southwest China, on 20 September 2024, at 09:43 UTC (17:43 local time). According to official sources, the satellites have entered the planned orbits and are part of the Tianqi Constellation (天启星座).

 

[Administrator]

Kuaizhou-1A Pro launches Haishao-1

Dec 4, 2024

A Kuaizhou-1A Pro (KZ-1A) launch vehicle launched the Haishao-1 remote-sensing satellite (海哨一号卫星, Sea Sentinel-1) from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center, Sichuan Province, China, on 4 December 2024, at 04:46 UTC (12:46 local time). Haishao-1, also known as AIRSAT-08 and Zhongke-08 (中科卫星08星, China Science and Technology Satellite 08), is described by official sources as China’s first ultra-low orbit synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite. The Kuaizhou-1A rocket used in this mission had several improvements: payload fairing diameter incensed from 1.4 to 1.8 metres, payload capacity increased from 300 to 450 kg to low Earth orbit (LEO) and from 200 to more than 300 kg to a 700-kilometre Solar-synchronous orbit (SSO).

 

[Administrator]

The Kuaizhou-1A Pro launch vehicle

Dec 5, 2024

The Kuaizhou-1A Pro launch vehicle (KZ-1A, 快舟一号甲) is developed by ExPace Technology Corporation, a subsidiary of China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC). According to ExPace, the Kuaizhou-1A Pro upgrades include: payload fairing diameter increased from 1.4 to 1.8 metres; payload capacity increased from 300 to 450 kg to low Earth orbit (LEO) and from 200 to more than 300 kg to a 700-kilometre Solar-synchronous orbit (SSO); re-ignitable upper stage.

 

[Administrator]

Kuaizhou-1A launches PRSS-1

Jul 31, 2025

A Kuaizhou-1A (KZ-1A) launch vehicle launched the Pakistan Remote-Sensing Satellite (PRSS-1) from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center, Sichuan Province, China, on 31 July 2025, at 02:00 UTC (10:00 local time). According to official sources, the satellite entered the planned orbit and “will be primarily used in the fields of land resource surveys and disaster prevention and mitigation”.