China’s first seaborne rocket launched in Yellow Sea

New chapter begins: A Long March 11 solid-propellant carrier rocket, with a payload of seven satellites, blasting off from a mobile launch platform off Shandong province. — China Daily/Asia News Network

Beijing: China carried out its first seaborne space launch in its territorial waters in the Yellow Sea, opening a new chapter in its space industry.

A Long March 11 solid-propellant carrier rocket blasted off at 12.06pm local time from a mobile launch platform – a modified submersible craft – off Shandong province, sending seven satellites into an orbit nearly 600km above Earth.

The mission – the world’s first seaborne space launch in the past five years – showed China’s possession of technologies and capabilities required for such an operation and also indicated the country has found an alternative to its ground-based launch centres.

It also showed that China is striving to expand its launch service portfolio and promote its carrier rockets to more countries, especially those that want their own satellite network at affordable costs.

Before the seaborne mission, China had conducted more than 310 carrier rocket launches at its four land-based space launch centres.Compared with conventional, land-based launches, a sea mission has a lower risk of causing trouble for densely populated areas along the rocket’s trajectory.

The method also allows launches to be made near the equator, which increases the rocket’s carrying capacity, lowers launch costs and extends the life span of some satellites, according to Li Tongyu, project manager for Long March 11 at the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology.

Wednesday’s launch also marked the first time a Chinese private company – Beijing Aerospace Satellite­herd Science and Technology – has provided monitoring and tracking service during the entire launch and flight path of a space mission.

The Long March 11, designed and built by the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, is the first and only solid-fuel carrier rocket in the Long March family, the pillar of the country’s space programmes.

The model is 20.8m long, with a diameter of 2m and a lift-off weight of 58 metric tonnes.

Its first flight was in September 2015 from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in China’s Gobi Desert, ferrying four satellites to a sun-synchronous orbit.

The rocket was used in six launches before the seaborne mission and had placed 25 satellites into space.

All the previous missions began at the Jiuquan centre and were successful.

The mobile platform used in Wednesday’s launch was owned and run by a Chinese maritime engineering company, which asked not to be named in consideration of contractual obligations.

Li said the Long March 11 will continue conducting sea-based launches to verify the rocket’s capacity for various types of orbits. — China Daily/Asia News Network