ChinalaunchedaSmartDragon3carrierrocketonMondaymorningoffthecoastofHaiyanginShandongprovince,placing10satellitesinspace.
TheSmartDragon3isasolid-propellantrocketmodel.Thetypeis31meterstall,hasadiameterof2.65meters,andcancarryaliftoffweightof140metrictons.Itismainlypropelledbyahigh-performance,solid-propellantengine,whichholds71tonsofpropellantthatcreatesathrustof200tons.
Therocketiscapableofsendingmultiplesatelliteswithacombinedweightof1.5tonstoatypicalsun-synchronousorbitatanaltitudeof500kilometers.
SmartDragon3madeitsmaidenflightinDecember2022fromashipintheYellowSea,placing14satellitesintoorbit.ItssecondmissiontookplaceinDecember2023offYangjiang,becomingthefirstsea-basedrocketlaunchfromtheSouthChinaSea.ThethirdalsohappenedoffthecoastofYangjiangandplacedninesatellitesinspace.ThefourthoccurredinSeptemberoffthecoastofHaiyanganddeployedeightsatellites.
Bynow,Chinahasperformed15sea-basedlaunches,usingfourtypesofrockets:LongMarch11,SmartDragon3,Ceres1,andGravity1.