Orbital launch vehicle
Kinetica 1
Kinetica 1 (also known as Lijian-1, Chinese: 力箭一号) is a Chinese solid-propellant light launch vehicle. It is capable of placing about 2 tons into low earth orbit and 1.5 tons into sun-synchronous orbit. It is developed by CAS Space, a subsidiary of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Kinetica 1 is a light launcher whose first stage seems to be derived from the DF-31 long-range intercontinental ballistic missile. It is 30 m high and has a diameter of 2.65 m, with a liftoff mass of 135 t. It's the largest Chinese solid propellant launcher to date, with four stages with a thrust of 200, 100, 50 and 10 tons respectively. The fairing has a diameter of 3.35 meters.
Kinetica 1 is built by CAS Space of China. Company background, funding, contracts and news for this operator are tracked on Space Index. It first flew on 27 July 2022.
Flight record
Payload
| Low Earth orbit | 2,000kg |
|---|---|
| Sun-synchronous orbit | 1,500kg |
Vehicle
| Stages | 4 |
|---|---|
| Length | 30m |
| Diameter | 2.65m |
| Launch mass | 135t |
| Liftoff thrust | 1,961kN |
| Maiden flight | 2022-07-27 |
| Reusable | No |
Pads used
Orbits delivered
Launch history
| Date | Mission | Pad | Orbit | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-09-20 | Kinetica 1 | 9 satellites | Launch Area 130 | Sun-Synchronous Orbit | Success |
| 2026-07-23 | Kinetica 1 | 5 satellites | Launch Area 130 | Sun-Synchronous Orbit | Success |
| 2026-06-15 | Kinetica 1 | 8 x Jilin-1 | Launch Area 130 | Sun-Synchronous Orbit | Success |
| 2026-05-15 | Kinetica 1 | 5 satellites | Launch Area 130 | Sun-Synchronous Orbit | Success |
| 2026-04-14 | Kinetica 1 | 8 x Jilin-1 | Launch Area 130 | Sun-Synchronous Orbit | Success |
| 2025-12-10 | Kinetica 1 | 9 satellites | Launch Area 130 | Sun-Synchronous Orbit | Success |
| 2025-11-09 | Kinetica 1 | Chutian-2 01 & 02 | Launch Area 130 | Sun-Synchronous Orbit | Success |
| 2025-10-19 | Kinetica 1 | PRSC-HS1 & AIRSAT-03/04 | Launch Area 130 | Sun-Synchronous Orbit | Success |
| 2025-08-19 | Kinetica 1 | 7 satellites | Launch Area 130 | Sun-Synchronous Orbit | Success |
| 2025-05-21 | Kinetica 1 | 6 satellites | Launch Area 130 | Sun-Synchronous Orbit | Success |
| 2024-12-27 | Kinetica 1 | DEAR-3 & 10 other satellites | Launch Area 130 | Sun-Synchronous Orbit | Failure |
| 2024-11-11 | Kinetica 1 | 15 satellites | Launch Area 130 | Sun-Synchronous Orbit | Success |
| 2024-09-24 | Kinetica 1 | 5 satellites | Launch Area 130 | Sun-Synchronous Orbit | Success |
| 2024-01-23 | Kinetica 1 | Flight 3 | Launch Area 130 | Sun-Synchronous Orbit | Success |
| 2023-06-07 | Kinetica 1 | Flight 2 | Launch Area 130 | Sun-Synchronous Orbit | Success |
| 2022-07-27 | Kinetica 1 | Maiden Flight | Launch Area 130 | Sun-Synchronous Orbit | Success |
Specifications from Launch Library 2 by The Space Devs, launch records from Space Index. Derived figures are computed here; see sources and method.
Further reading: Operator page