Hyperbola-1 Yao-6 launch vehicle.
According to the original plan, at 15:00 on December 16, 2023, the "Hyperbola-1" (Yao-7) carrier rocket will be launched at the 95A station of the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. At present, the launch has been postponed to 15:00 on December 17. At present, in the winter where the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center is located, the current temperature can be as low as minus 20 degrees, and the low-temperature launch is a test for both the Star Rocket and the Star Rocket test team.
"Hyperbola-1" is China's first type of private commercial carrier rocket successfully put into orbit, after the successful first flight unfortunately experienced three consecutive defeats, and finally regained success in the launch of the Yao-6 rocket in the first half of this year. The Yao-7 Rockets will be expected to claim their first consecutive win for the rocket.
Hyperbola-1 Yao-6 launch vehicle.
"Hyperbola-1" is a small four-stage solid launch vehicle developed by Interstellar Glory, with a length of 24 meters, one to four stages, and a fairing diameter of 14 meters, with a take-off mass of about 42 tons, a take-off thrust of about 79 tons, and a low-earth orbit (LEO) capacity of 038 tons, 500 km sun-synchronous orbit (SSO) capacity greater than 03 tons, 700 km sun-synchronous orbit capacity 0225 tons. The take-off magnitude and capacity of the rocket are similar to those of the "Kuaizhou-1A" and "Ceres-1" rockets.
Previously, the launch of "Hyperbola-1" was 5 million US dollars (the current exchange rate is nearly 36 million yuan), and the unit launch ** is about 1$30,000. However, with the mass production and delivery of rockets, there is still a large room for decline in launches.
Schematic diagram of the "Hyperbola-2" rocket.
For commercial spaceflight, small solid launch vehicles are just "appetizers", and "main dishes" and "hard dishes" are reusable liquid launch vehicles, especially medium and large liquid launch vehicles, which are more economical. At present, the "Hyperbola-2" rocket under development by Interstellar Glory has completed two vertical take-off and landing missions, realizing China's first reusable technology verification rocket reuse flight, which provides key technical verification for the company's ongoing development of the medium and large reusable launch vehicle "Hyperbola-3".
It is expected that in 2025, the "hyperbola-3" rocket will achieve its first flight, with a take-off mass of 490 tons and a low-earth orbit capacity of 137 tons, which will provide strong capacity support for the launch of China's constellation network.
Author: Mulan Xingzhou.