China’s CAS Space launched 18 satellites for the SpaceSail internet constellation on November 3, using its Kinetica 2 rocket for the vehicle’s second flight.
The rocket lifted off at 8:15 a.m. Beijing time from the Dongfeng commercial space zone at Jiuquan. All 18 satellites reached their planned orbits, according to the company’s mission announcement. The launch time was 5:45 a.m. in India.
The payload formed the constellation’s 21st group of satellites. China Daily reported that the mission was also CAS Space’s 18th orbital launch and its first large-scale deployment for an internet-satellite network.
Kinetica 2 is a liquid-fuelled launch vehicle. For this mission, its upper stage fired twice before the satellites separated in sequence. The confirmed milestone is their deployment into orbit; the announcement does not establish that this group has completed commissioning or begun providing service.
Archive photograph of satellite dishes at Telespazio's Fucino ground station in Italy, taken in 2007. Illustrative image; not the Kinetica-2 launch, China or SpaceSail hardware. Photo: Alistair Young / Flickr, CC BY 2.0. Display may be resized or cropped.
