The Chinese companylaunchedthe Gravity-1 rocket on Thursday at 12:30 a.m.
The rocket carried three commercial weather satellites, Yunyao-1 (18-20), to orbit.
Solid-propellant launch vehicles use solid rocket motors as its primary source of thrust.
Drone’s view of the launch.Gif: Orienspace/Gizmodo
The Chinese company is already working on two other vehicles, Gravity 2 and 3.
In July 2023, a Chinese company became thefirst in the world to launch a methane-fueled rocket to orbit.
Last year, China had a record-breaking 67 rocket launches.
A Gravity-1 (YL-1) rocket launched off the coast of Haiyang, east China’s Shandong Province on January 11, 2024.Photo: Liu Huaiyu (AP)
The Gravity-1 launch was the fourth launch of 2024 for China.
Additional reporting by George Dvorsky.
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Another view of the spectacular launch.Photo: Liu Huaiyu (AP)
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