CHINA sent six new satellites into space from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Northwest China yesterday.

The satellites, including a new space technology test satellite and a test satellite for probing atmospheric density, were launched by a Lijian-1 carrier rocket at 12:12 p.m. Beijing Time and entered the orbit successfully.

The Lijian-1 solid-propellant rocket was independently developed CAS Space, a Beijing-based rocket company owned by the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

The mission marked the first flight of Lijian-1, the country’s largest and most powerful solid-propellant rocket.

All the satellites are tasked with carrying out technology demonstrations and scientific experiments, the company said.

The rocket has a length of 30 meters, a diameter of 2.65 meters and a liftoff weight of 135 metric tons.

It is capable of sending satellites with a combined weight of 1.5 tons to a typical sun-synchronous orbit about 500 kilometers above the Earth.

It features strong carrying capacity, high-orbital accuracy, a reliable design and high-cost efficiency, and it is one of the best solid-propellant carrier rockets in the world, the company said.

The successful launch made Lijian-1 China’s biggest and mightiest solid-fuel rocket, replacing the Long March 11, a product of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp.

The Long March 11 is 20.8 meters tall, with a diameter of 2 meters and a liftoff weight of 58 tons.

It also means that the Chinese Academy of Sciences now has its own carrier rocket for orbital launches.

The academy has designed and made many satellites but previously relied on other branded rockets to deploy them.

(Xinhua, China Daily)