东方空间 OrienSpace is one of sixty plus Carrier Rocket Companies in Made In China, People’s Republic of China.. Located in headquartered in Beijing, B3, Digital Manor, No. 1 Disheng West Road, Yizhuang Economic and Technological Development Zone, Daxing District, Beijing………Shandong Address: No. 30, Nanjing Street, Economic Development Zone, Haiyang City, Yantai City, Shandong Province………Shaanxi Address: 4th Floor, Northwest Building, Eleven Science and Technology, National Civil Aerospace Industry Base, Xi’an, Shaanxi Province…….Hainan Address: Room 125, 1st Floor, Building 20, No. 169, Wenwei Road, Wencheng Town, Wenchang City, Hainan Province…
At 10:20 Beijing time on October 11, 2025, under the organization and implementation of the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, the “Gravity-1” Yao-2 carrier rocket ignited and carried out the launch mission from the “Oriental Spaceport” rocket launch ship in the Yellow Sea near Haiyang, and then sent the “Jixing” wide-band 02B07 satellite, the Shutianyuxing 01 and 02 test satellites, a total of three satellites, into the sun-synchronous orbit (SSO).
The wide-swath 02B07 “Jiangsu Geology” satellite, jointly developed by Chang Guang Satellite Technology Co., Ltd. and the Jiangsu Provincial Geological Bureau, is a wide-swath, high-resolution optical remote sensing satellite. Capable of imaging with a swath width of 150 kilometers and a resolution of 0.5 meters, it boasts mass production capabilities, wide-swath width, high resolution, and high-speed data transmission. The satellite is designed to enhance satellite imagery coverage and high-precision monitoring across Jiangsu Province, enabling enhanced precision in mineral resource exploration and refined ecological management of land and space.
This mission marks the 31st launch of the Jilin-1 satellite project, bringing the number of satellites in the project’s network to 141. Currently, the Jilin-1 satellite project includes the Jilin-1 constellation (138 networked satellites in orbit) and the Jixing constellation (3 networked satellites in orbit).
The Shutianyuxing 01 and 02 test satellites are small optical remote sensing satellites developed by SpaceTime Aerospace. These satellites are based on SpaceTime Aerospace’s GSP50 general-purpose platform, a low-cost, high-performance, and highly reliable 50-kilogram-class low-Earth orbit satellite designed for commercial applications. They feature flexible mission adaptability and a fast delivery cycle. These satellites are equipped with optical cameras and X-band tracking, control, and data transmission payloads, primarily for Earth remote sensing observations.
The Gravity-1 is a medium-sized solid-propellant carrier rocket developed by Oriental Space Corporation. Its main propulsion system, comprised of seven solid-propellant rocket engines of four different types, was developed by the Fourth Academy of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation. The rocket utilizes a three-and-a-half-stage configuration, with the core stage, core stage, and core stage connected in series. The core stage is bundled with four core stage module boosters in a cluster (5CBC configuration). Developed for satellite constellation missions, the rocket is primarily intended for launches into Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and Sun-Synchronous Orbit (SSO).
The “Gravity-1” rocket is about 30 meters high, with a body diameter of 2.65 meters (the diameter of the core stage is 1.4 meters), equipped with a fairing with an external diameter of 4.2 meters, a takeoff mass of 405 tons, a takeoff thrust of 600 tons, a low-Earth orbit (LEO) carrying capacity of 6.5 tons, and a sun-synchronous orbit (SSO) carrying capacity of 4.2 tons at an altitude of 500 kilometers.
The Gravity-1 is the world’s largest solid-propellant carrier rocket (referring to a carrier rocket primarily based on a solid stage) in service. It is also the first strap-on rocket in China’s private commercial space program to achieve orbital flight and boasts the highest payload capacity in the nation’s private and commercial space program.
Compared to the Gravity-1 Yao-1 rocket, the Yao-2 rocket boasts numerous inherent improvements. The rocket’s quality stability, consistency control, and product reliability have all been enhanced, as has its adaptability to multiple orbits and launch sites. Oriental Space has established a quality and safety control system for mass production of the Gravity-1 rocket. Furthermore, Oriental Space has leveraged its engineering expertise to foster a stable talent pipeline, supporting the parallel advancement of regular launches of multiple models and agile development.
This mission further verified the reliability of the “Gravity-1” rocket program, the coordination of the entire process, and the stability of quality control. It marked the rocket’s progress from test launches to normalized commercial operations, and officially became the largest-capacity rocket type actually put into operation by China’s private commercial carrier rockets.
This mission is the first launch of the Gravity-1 carrier rocket in 2025 and the second launch of the rocket in total.
Images and visuals are from their respectives.