The scene of the "Gravity No. 1" arrow ship joint exercise.
In December 2023, Oriental Space Company completed the joint training of the "Gravity-1" rocket ship at the Dongfang Spaceport in Haiyang, Shandong, marking that the first flight of this type of rocket has entered the final stage of preparation.
It is expected that at 13:30 on January 11, 2024, the "Gravity-1" Yao-1 carrier rocket will be launched from the "Vostok Spaceport" launch ship in the Yellow Sea to carry out the first launch of this type of rocket. China's commercial aerospace will usher in a type of carrier rocket with innovative configuration and powerful capacity.
Gravity-1 (YL-1) is a medium-sized all-solid-state carrier rocket independently developed by Oriental Space (Shandong) Science and Technology, which is oriented to the rapid response launch of medium and large space payloads and the large-scale networking launch of small and medium-sized satellites in low orbit. The arrow adopts a semi-first configuration, consisting of a core one, a core two, a core and 4 boosters, and the main power is all solid propellant engines. The arrow is 31 in length4 meters, core 1, core 2, booster diameter 265 meters, core ** diameter 14 meters, take-off mass 405 tons, take-off thrust of more than 600 tons, optional diameter 335 meters, 38 meters and 42-meter fairing, its low-earth orbit capacity of 65 tons, 500 km sun-synchronous orbit capacity 42 tons, 700 km sun-synchronous orbit capacity 37 tons.
"Gravity-1" is an innovative model in the field of world launch vehicles, the world's first medium-sized all-solid launch vehicle, and will become the world's largest take-off and strongest solid launch vehicle in use. At present, the world's strongest solid launch vehicle in use is ESA's "Vega-C", which adopts a four-stage tandem configuration, with a take-off mass of 210 tons, a take-off thrust of about 459 tons, and a 700-kilometer sun-synchronous orbit capacity of nearly 23 tons. At the same time, "Gravity 1" is also the first type of launch vehicle in China's private commercial aerospace, which has increased the near-earth transportation capacity of civilian and commercial rockets to 6 tons.
Like many commercial rocket companies in China, Dongfang Space has also chosen the route of "solid first and then liquid" on the road to the development of launch vehicles, and solid launch vehicles have the advantages of short development cycles, which will help to quickly bring products to the market, seize the strategic opportunities of commercial spaceflight, and also help to cultivate rocket research and development teams. At the same time, the inevitable trend in the field of commercial space launch vehicles is low-cost and reusable, which is destined to be the core of the development of reusable medium and large liquid launch vehicles. Based on the route of "solid first and then liquid", Dongfang Space took the lead in developing and launching the "Gravity-1" solid launch vehicle to gain a firm foothold, and at the same time developed the medium-sized liquid reusable launch vehicle "Gravity-2" to enter the main battlefield of commercial space launches.
For Orient Space, the success of the first flight of Gravity 1 will enable it to enter the ranks of launch service providers and become a key step in its growth. For the demand side of launch services, "Gravity 1" will provide a powerful commercial launch vehicle for the launch service market in short supply, accelerating the pace of low-orbit constellation networking. For space enthusiasts, the launch of an unprecedented solid giant arrow from the sea will bring an unprecedented shocking experience, which is conducive to allowing more people to pay attention to and participate in commercial spaceflight, and promote the development and growth of the entire space industry.
According to the original plan, the first flight of "Gravity 1" will be carried out in December 2023, and it will finally usher in its first flight after a slight postponement for some reason. As a solid "giant arrow", "Gravity 1" has a large size and large capacity, and will also bring a big scene, looking forward to the "giant arrow" rising from the east and pushing China's commercial aerospace forward.
Author: Mulan Xingzhou.