Ceres-1 (launch vehicle)

2023: Successful launch from offshore platform

On September 5, 2023, a four-stage commercial rocket of the Ceres-1 light class, created by the Chinese company Galactic Energy, first successfully launched from an offshore platform.

The Ceres-1 solid fuel carrier is designed to launch a payload weighing up to 400 kg into low Earth orbit or up to 300 kg into a solar-synchronous orbit. During the launch, the rocket launched from a platform located in the East China Sea near the city of Haiyang in Shandong province. The platform is a special mobile barge designated DE FU 15002.

Ceres-1 solid fuel carrier

The payload was four spacecraft of Guodian Gaoke, which is deploying a low-orbit satellite constellation of the narrowband [[Internet of Things ([[Internet of Things (IoT)|IoT)]]]] Tianqi. Such devices are endowed with propulsion systems that allow you to perform maneuvers in orbit. The Tianqi constellation is expected to combine 38 satellites in 2024.

Founded in early 2018 by former employees of the state-run China Rocket Research Institute (CALT), Galactic Energy said the Ceres-1 launch from the floating platform went ahead as planned. All four satellites are launched into given orbits. Sets numbered 21-24 are used to receive and relay messages from IoT equipment.

It is noted that the spaceport near the city of Haiyan in the future will be able to be used to launch carriers with liquid rocket engines. This site is part of a larger program China aimed at developing the space sphere, providing greater flexibility in launches and redundancy. Potentially, this platform will help reduce the risk of missile debris falling into the country.^[1]

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