China launches Smart Dragon-3 rocket carrying satellite from sea

With China's first sea-based rocket launch in 2025, Smart Dragon-3 reached a new milestone when it was able to carry a total payload of up to 1,600kg - the heaviest ever.

On the morning of January 13, China launched the Smart Dragon-3 (SD-3) rocket, putting 10 CentiSpace 01 satellites into orbit as planned.

According to Xinhua News Agency, the SD-3 rocket took off from the launch pad at 11:00 a.m. (local time, 10:00 a.m. Vietnam time) from the sea near Haiyang City, Shandong Province, eastern China. The launch was carried out by the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center.

Developed by the China Academy of Rocket Technology, the SD-3 rocket has a total length of 31m and a weight of 140 tons.

Liu Wei, deputy chief designer of the SD-3 rocket, noted that this was the first time a low-inclination orbit launch had been carried out from the waters off Haiyang.

This not only ensures safety but also helps reduce maritime costs, shorten technical preparation time and increase economic efficiency.

According to him, the sea launch demonstrated the missile's adaptability to harsh maritime environments and strong winds in winter.

This is China's first sea-based rocket launch in 2025. With this launch, Smart Dragon-3 has reached a new milestone when it can carry a total payload of up to 1,600kg - the heaviest ever.

The payload includes a constellation of 10 CentiSpace 01 satellites, which will be used to collect data on the space environment and test an inter-satellite laser network.

The SD-3 is a member of China's Dragon rocket family. Its first launch is scheduled for December 2022.

Unlike the Long March rocket, the Dragon series of rockets was specifically developed to meet the growing market demand for launching small commercial satellites in low orbit and satellite networks.

Source: https://nhandan.vn/trung-quoc-phong-ten-lua-day-smart-dragon-3-mang-theo-ve-tinh-tu-bien-post855833.html