Galactic Energy

Galactic Energy (Beijing) Space Technology Co., LTD.
Trade name	Galactic Energy
Company type	Private
Industry	Aerospace
Founded	February 6, 2018; 6 years ago
Founders	Liu Baiqi; Xia Dongkun;
Headquarters	Beijing, China
Website	www.galactic-energy.cn/En

Ceres-1

Galactic Energy (Chinese: 星河动力) is a Chinese private space launch enterprise flying the Ceres-1^[1]^[2]^[3] and developing the Pallas-1 orbital rockets. The company's long-term objective is to mine asteroids for rare metals and minerals.^[4]

History

Galactic Energy successfully conducted its first launch in November 2020 with a Ceres-1 rocket. Galactic Energy became the second private company in China to put a satellite in orbit successfully (after i-Space) and the fourth to attempt an orbital launch (after Landspace, OneSpace, and i-Space).^[5]

On 6 December 2021, Galactic Energy launched its second Ceres-1 rocket, becoming the first Chinese private firm to reach orbit twice.^[6] In January 2022, the company raised $200 million for reusable launch vehicle development.^[7]

Ceres-1

Ceres-1 (Chinese: 谷神星一号) is a four-stage rocket, the first three stages use solid-propellant rocket motors and the final stage uses a hydrazine propulsion system. It is about 19 m (62 ft) tall and 1.4 m (4 ft 7 in) in diameter. It can deliver 400 kg (880 lb) to low Earth orbit or 300 kg (660 lb) to 500 km Sun-synchronous orbit.^[8]

The first launch of Ceres-1 took place at 7 November 2020, successfully placing the Tianqi 11 (also transcribed Tiange, also known as TQ 11, and Scorpio 1, COSPAR 2020-080A) satellite in orbit.^[9] The satellite's mass was about 50 kg (110 lb) and its purpose was to function as an experimental satellite offering Internet of things (IoT) communications.^[10]

On 5 September 2023 the sea-launched version of the launch vehicle, designated Ceres-1S, made its debut successfully sending to orbit four Tianqi satellites. The launch took place from the DeFu 15002 converted barge (previously used also for launching the Long March 11 launch vehicle) off the coast of Haiyang.^[11]

Pallas-1

The Pallas-1 (Chinese: 智神星一号) is a two-stage medium-lift orbital launch vehicle currently in development, with its inaugural flight anticipated in the third quarter of 2024. The first stage will have legs and grid fins to allow recovery by vertical landing (much like the SpaceX Falcon 9).^[12] The first stage of Pallas-1 uses seven “CQ-50” liquid oxygen/kerosene engines, with a lift-off mass of 283 tons and a maximum payload capacity to low Earth orbit (LEO) of 8 tons. Using three Pallas-1 booster cores as its first stage, the rocket will be capable of putting a 17.5-tonne payload into low Earth orbit (LEO).^[13]

Marketplace

Galactic Space is in competition with several other Chinese space rocket startups, being LandSpace, LinkSpace, ExPace, i-Space, OneSpace and Deep Blue Aerospace.^[14]

Launches


Rocket & Serial	Date	Payload	Orbit	Launch Site	Outcome	Notes
Ceres-1 Y1	7 November 2020, 07:12 UTC^[15]	Tianqi-1 (Scorpio-1)	SSO	Jiuquan	Success	First flight of Ceres-1.
Ceres-1 Y2	7 December 2021, 04:12 UTC^[16]^[6]	Tianjin University-1 Lize-1 Baoyun Golden Bauhinia-5 Golden Bauhinia-1 03	SSO	Jiuquan	Success
Ceres-1 Y3	9 August 2022, 04:11 UTC^[17]	Taijing-1 01 Taijing-1 02 Donghai-1	SSO	Jiuquan	Success
Ceres-1 Y4	16 November 2022, 06:19 UTC^[18]	Jilin-1 Gaofen-03D 08 Jilin-1 Gaofen-03D 51 Jilin-1 Gaofen-03D 52 Jilin-1 Gaofen-03D 53 Jilin-1 Gaofen-03D 54	SSO	Jiuquan	Success
Ceres-1 Y5	9 January 2023, 05:04 UTC^[19]	Nantong Zhongxue Tianmu-1 01 Tianmu-1 02 Xiamen Keji-1 Tianqi-13	SSO	Jiuquan	Success
Ceres-1 Y6	22 July 2023, 05:07 UTC^[20]	Qiankun-1 Xingshidai-16 (Tai'an)	SSO	Jiuquan	Success
Ceres-1 Y7	10 August 2023, 04:03 UTC^[21]	Diwei Zhineng Yingji-1 (Henan Ligong-1) Xi'an Hangtou × 4 Xiguang-1 01 Xingchi-1B	SSO	Jiuquan	Success
Ceres-1 Y8	25 August 2023, 04:59 UTC^[22]	Jilin-1 Kuanfu-02A (HKUST-Xiongbin-1)	SSO	Jiuquan	Success
Ceres-1S Y1	5 September 2023, 09:34 UTC^[11]	Tianqi-21 Tianqi-22 Tianqi-23 Tianqi-24	SSO	DeFu 15002 platform, Yellow Sea	Success	First sea-launch flight.
Ceres-1 Y11	21 September 2023, 04:59 UTC^[23]	Jilin-1 Gaofen-04B	SSO	Jiuquan	Failure	First Ceres-1 failure after 9 consecutive successful launches since 2020.
Ceres-1 Y9	4 December 2023, 23:33 UTC^[24]	Tianyan-16 Xingchi-1A	SSO	Jiuquan	Success	Successful return of the launch of the Ceres-1 rocket after suffering a failure in September.
Ceres-1S Y2	29 May 2024, 08:12 UTC^[25]	Tianqi-25 Tianqi-26 Tianqi-27 Tianqi-28	LEO	Special converted barge (Dong Fang Hang Tian Gang) Offshore waters of Rizhao, Yellow Sea	Success
Ceres-1 Y12	30 May 2024, 23:39 UTC^[26]	Jiguang 01 & 02 Yunyao-1 (14,25,26)	SSO	Jiuquan	Success
Ceres-1 Y13	6 June 2024, 05:00 UTC^[27]	TEE-01B Naxing-3A/B	SSO	Jiuquan	Success
Ceres-1S Y3	29 August 2024, 05:22 UTC^[28]	Yunyao-1 (15,16,17) Jitianxing A-03 Suxing 1-01 Tianfu Gaofen 2	SSO	Special converted barge (Dong Fang Hang Tian Gang) Offshore waters of Rizhao, Yellow Sea	Success
Ceres-1S Y4	19 December 2024, 10:18 UTC^[29]	Tianqi-33 Tianqi-34 Tianqi-35 Tianqi-36	LEO	Special converted barge (Dong Fang Hang Tian Gang) Offshore waters of Rizhao, Yellow Sea	Success
Ceres-1 Y?	2025	Unknown Payload	SSO	Jiuquan	Planned
Ceres-1	2025 ^[30]^[31]	Zengzhang-1	LEO	Jiuquan	Planned	Reentry capsule
Pallas-1 Y1	2025^[32]	TBA	LEO	TBA	Planned	First flight of Pallas-1.

References

^ "Chinese launch firm Galactic Energy raises US$21.5 million". SpaceNews. 9 January 2020.
^ "Satellites become key vertical within China's growing space sector". Kr ASIA. 12 May 2020.
^ "Galactic Energy Prepares Ceres-1 Rocket for First Launch". IEEE.
^ Davenport, Justin (9 August 2022). "Galactic Energy Ceres-1 launches three Earth observation satellites". NASASpaceFlight.com. Retrieved 13 August 2022.
^ "Chinese rocket firm Galactic Energy succeeds with first orbital launch, secures funding". 7 November 2020.
^ ^a ^b "Chinese private firm Galactic Energy puts five satellites in orbit with second launch". 7 December 2021.
^ "China's Galactic Energy raises $200 million for reusable launch vehicle development". 24 January 2022.
^ "Pair of Chinese launches put classified and commercial satellites into orbit". 9 January 2023.
^ "Chinese rocket firm Galactic Energy succeeds with first orbital launch, secures funding". SpaceNews. 7 November 2020.
^ "Tianqi 10, 11, 12". Gunter's Space Page. 31 August 2021. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
^ ^a ^b Jones, Andrew (5 September 2023). "Chinese Ceres-1 rocket reaches orbit with first sea launch". SpaceNews.com. Retrieved 5 September 2023.
^ Jones, Andrew (20 March 2020). "Galactic Energy Prepares Ceres-1 Rocket for First Launch". IEEE Spectrum. Retrieved 8 September 2021.
^ "Galactic Energy". Galatic Energy. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
^ Doug Messier (20 December 2017). "EXPACE Raises US$182 Million for Small Satellite Launchers". Parabolic Arc. Archived from the original on 4 December 2020. Retrieved 8 November 2020.
^ Jones, Andrew (7 November 2020). "Chinese rocket firm Galactic Energy succeeds with first orbital launch, secures funding". SpaceNews. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
^ "China's CERES-1 Y2 commercial rocket launches 5 satellites". Xinhua News Agency.
^ China 'N Asia Spaceflight [@CNSpaceflight] (9 August 2022). "Liftoff at 04:11 UTC on Aug. 09, GALACTIC-ENERGY successfully made the 3rd consecutive launch of solid rocket CERES-1 from Jiuquan, sending 3 satellites: Taijing-1-01/02 and Donghai-1, to orbit" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
^ China 'N Asia Spaceflight [@CNSpaceflight] (16 November 2022). "Liftoff at 06:20UTC, CERES-1 Y4 successfully launched five Jilin-1-03D satellites from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
^ China 'N Asia Spaceflight [@CNSpaceflight] (9 January 2023). "GIVE ME FIVE! GALACTIC-ENERGY's CERES-1 Y5 successfully launched 5 satellites from Jiuquan at ~05:04 UTC on January 09. 5 successful missions in a roll for a Chinese startup!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
^ "China's commercial rocket CERES-1 Y6 launches 2 satellites". Xinhua. 22 July 2023. Retrieved 22 July 2023.
^ "China's commercial CERES-1 Y7 rocket launches 7 satellites". Xinhua. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
^ "八连胜！星河动力航天顺利将吉林一号宽幅02A星送入预定轨道" [Eight consecutive successes! Galaxy Energy successfully sent the Jilin-1 Kuanfu-02A satellite into the planned orbit]. Galatic Energy (in Chinese). 25 August 2023. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
^ "Launch of Jilin-1 Gaofen-04 B satellite fails". Xinhua Net. Retrieved 21 September 2023.
^ "China's commercial CERES-1 Y9 rocket launches new satellites". Xinhua. 5 December 2023. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
^ "China's commercial rocket launches satellites from sea". Xinhua. 29 May 2024. Retrieved 29 May 2024.
^ "Chinese rocket launches 5 satellites into space". Xinhua. 31 May 2024. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
^ "China's commercial CERES-1 rocket launches 3 satellites". Xinhua. 6 June 2024. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
^ "China's commercial CERES-1 rocket launches satellites from sea". Xinhua. 29 August 2024. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
^ "China's commercial CERES-1 rocket launches satellites from sea". Xinhua. 19 December 2024. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
^ "首飞在即，民营商业飞船研发商星际开发获英诺天使基金千万元级天使投资" [First flight coming soon, private commercial spacecraft developer Interstellar Development receives 10 million yuan angel investment from Inno Angel Fund] (in Chinese). 3sNews. 5 August 2021. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
^ Zhang, Lin (4 August 2021). "「星际开发」完成数千万元天使轮融资，加速商业航天领域宇宙飞船研发" ["Interstellar Development" completes tens of millions of yuan in angel round financing, accelerating spacecraft research and development in the commercial aerospace field] (in Chinese). 36Kr. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
^ China 'N Asia Spaceflight [@CNSpaceflight] (10 January 2023). "GAPACTIC-ENERGY's another important goal is to develop the reusable kerosene fueled rocket PALLAS-1, which is now targeted in 2024 for first launch" (Tweet) – via Twitter.

External links

Official website

[1] "Chinese launch firm Galactic Energy raises US$21.5 million". SpaceNews. 9 January 2020.

[2] "Satellites become key vertical within China's growing space sector". Kr ASIA. 12 May 2020.

[3] "Galactic Energy Prepares Ceres-1 Rocket for First Launch". IEEE.

[4] Davenport, Justin (9 August 2022). "Galactic Energy Ceres-1 launches three Earth observation satellites". NASASpaceFlight.com. Retrieved 13 August 2022.

[5] "Chinese rocket firm Galactic Energy succeeds with first orbital launch, secures funding". 7 November 2020.

[spacenews.com-6] "Chinese private firm Galactic Energy puts five satellites in orbit with second launch". 7 December 2021.

[7] "China's Galactic Energy raises $200 million for reusable launch vehicle development". 24 January 2022.

[Ceres-1_Payload-8] "Pair of Chinese launches put classified and commercial satellites into orbit". 9 January 2023.

[9] "Chinese rocket firm Galactic Energy succeeds with first orbital launch, secures funding". SpaceNews. 7 November 2020.

[GSP-10] "Tianqi 10, 11, 12". Gunter's Space Page. 31 August 2021. Retrieved 8 December 2021.

[sn-20230905-11] Jones, Andrew (5 September 2023). "Chinese Ceres-1 rocket reaches orbit with first sea launch". SpaceNews.com. Retrieved 5 September 2023.

[GE-C1-2020-12] Jones, Andrew (20 March 2020). "Galactic Energy Prepares Ceres-1 Rocket for First Launch". IEEE Spectrum. Retrieved 8 September 2021.

[13] "Galactic Energy". Galatic Energy. Retrieved 12 April 2024.

[ParabolicArc-2017-12-20-14] Doug Messier (20 December 2017). "EXPACE Raises US$182 Million for Small Satellite Launchers". Parabolic Arc. Archived from the original on 4 December 2020. Retrieved 8 November 2020.

[15] Jones, Andrew (7 November 2020). "Chinese rocket firm Galactic Energy succeeds with first orbital launch, secures funding". SpaceNews. Retrieved 29 April 2021.

[16] "China's CERES-1 Y2 commercial rocket launches 5 satellites". Xinhua News Agency.

[17] China 'N Asia Spaceflight [@CNSpaceflight] (9 August 2022). "Liftoff at 04:11 UTC on Aug. 09, GALACTIC-ENERGY successfully made the 3rd consecutive launch of solid rocket CERES-1 from Jiuquan, sending 3 satellites: Taijing-1-01/02 and Donghai-1, to orbit" (Tweet) – via Twitter.

[18] China 'N Asia Spaceflight [@CNSpaceflight] (16 November 2022). "Liftoff at 06:20UTC, CERES-1 Y4 successfully launched five Jilin-1-03D satellites from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center" (Tweet) – via Twitter.

[19] China 'N Asia Spaceflight [@CNSpaceflight] (9 January 2023). "GIVE ME FIVE! GALACTIC-ENERGY's CERES-1 Y5 successfully launched 5 satellites from Jiuquan at ~05:04 UTC on January 09. 5 successful missions in a roll for a Chinese startup!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.

[20] "China's commercial rocket CERES-1 Y6 launches 2 satellites". Xinhua. 22 July 2023. Retrieved 22 July 2023.

[21] "China's commercial CERES-1 Y7 rocket launches 7 satellites". Xinhua. Retrieved 10 August 2023.

[22] "八连胜！星河动力航天顺利将吉林一号宽幅02A星送入预定轨道" [Eight consecutive successes! Galaxy Energy successfully sent the Jilin-1 Kuanfu-02A satellite into the planned orbit]. Galatic Energy (in Chinese). 25 August 2023. Retrieved 25 August 2023.

[23] "Launch of Jilin-1 Gaofen-04 B satellite fails". Xinhua Net. Retrieved 21 September 2023.

[24] "China's commercial CERES-1 Y9 rocket launches new satellites". Xinhua. 5 December 2023. Retrieved 5 December 2023.

[25] "China's commercial rocket launches satellites from sea". Xinhua. 29 May 2024. Retrieved 29 May 2024.

[26] "Chinese rocket launches 5 satellites into space". Xinhua. 31 May 2024. Retrieved 31 May 2024.

[27] "China's commercial CERES-1 rocket launches 3 satellites". Xinhua. 6 June 2024. Retrieved 6 June 2024.

[28] "China's commercial CERES-1 rocket launches satellites from sea". Xinhua. 29 August 2024. Retrieved 29 August 2024.

[29] "China's commercial CERES-1 rocket launches satellites from sea". Xinhua. 19 December 2024. Retrieved 19 December 2024.

[30] "首飞在即，民营商业飞船研发商星际开发获英诺天使基金千万元级天使投资" [First flight coming soon, private commercial spacecraft developer Interstellar Development receives 10 million yuan angel investment from Inno Angel Fund] (in Chinese). 3sNews. 5 August 2021. Retrieved 11 August 2021.

[31] Zhang, Lin (4 August 2021). "「星际开发」完成数千万元天使轮融资，加速商业航天领域宇宙飞船研发" ["Interstellar Development" completes tens of millions of yuan in angel round financing, accelerating spacecraft research and development in the commercial aerospace field] (in Chinese). 36Kr. Retrieved 11 August 2021.

[launch_date-32] China 'N Asia Spaceflight [@CNSpaceflight] (10 January 2023). "GAPACTIC-ENERGY's another important goal is to develop the reusable kerosene fueled rocket PALLAS-1, which is now targeted in 2024 for first launch" (Tweet) – via Twitter.

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v t e Orbital launch systems
List of orbital launch systems Comparison of orbital launch systems
Current	Angara 1.2 A5 Ariane 6 Atlas V Ceres 1 1S Chollima-1 Electron Falcon 9 Block 5 Falcon Heavy Firefly Alpha Gravity-1 GSLV H-IIA H3 Hyperbola-1 Jielong 1 3 KAIROS^† Kaituozhe 2 Kinetica 1 Kuaizhou 1 1A 11 Long March 2C 2D 2F 3A 3B/E 3C 4B 4C 5 5B 6 6A 7 7A 8 11 11H 12 LVM3 Minotaur I IV V C Nuri OS-M1^† Pegasus XL Proton-M PSLV Qaem 100 Qased Shavit 2 Simorgh SLS Block 1 Soyuz-2 2.1a / STA 2.1b / STB 2-1v SSLV Starship Tianlong-2 Unha Vega C Vulcan Centaur Zhuque 2
In development	Antares 330 Bloostar Cyclone-4M Deca Epsilon S Eris Gravity-2 Hyperbola-2 Irtysh Kuaizhou 21 31 Long March 9 10 Miura 5 MLV Neutron New Glenn New Line 1 NGLV Nova OS-M 2 4 Orbex Prime Pallas-1 Red Dwarf SLS Block 1B Block 2 Soyuz-7 Terran R Tianlong-3 VLM Vega E Zero Zhuque 3 Zuljanah
Retired	Antares 110 120 130^† 230 230+ Ariane 1 2 3 4 5 ASLV Athena I II Atlas B D E/F G H I II III LV-3B SLV-3 Able^† Agena Centaur Black Arrow Conestoga^† Delta A B C D E G J L M N 0100 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 II III IV IV Heavy Diamant Dnepr Energia Epsilon Europa I^† II^† Falcon 1 Falcon 9 v1.0 v1.1 v1.2 "Full Thrust" Feng Bao 1 GSLV Mk I H-I H-II H-IIB Juno I Juno II Kaituozhe-1 Kosmos original 1 2/2I 3 3M Lambda 4S LauncherOne Long March 1 1D^† 2A 2E 3 3B 4A Mu 4S 3C 3H 3S 3SII V N1^† N-I N-II Naro-1 Paektusan^† Pilot-2^† R-7 Luna Molniya M L Polyot Soyuz original FG L M U U2 Soyuz/Vostok Sputnik Voskhod Vostok L K 2 2M R-29 Shtil' Volna^† Rocket 3 RS1^† Safir 1 1A 1B Saturn I IB V Scout X-1 Blue Scout II^† X-2^† X-2M X-3 X-3M X-4 X-2B^† B A B-1 D-1 A-1 E-1 F-1 G-1 Shavit original 1 SLV Space Shuttle SPARK^† Sparta SS-520 Start-1 Terran 1^† Thor Able Ablestar 1 2 Agena A B D Burner 1 2 Delta DSV-2U Thorad-Agena SLV-2G SLV-2H Titan II GLV IIIA IIIB IIIC IIID IIIE 34D 23G CT-3 IV Tsyklon R-36-O original 2 3 Universal Rocket UR-500 Proton Proton-K Rokot Strela Vanguard Vega original VLS-1^† Zenit 2 2M 2FG 3SL 3SLB 3F Zhuque 1^†
Classes	Sounding rocket Small-lift launch vehicle Medium-lift launch vehicle Heavy-lift launch vehicle Super heavy-lift launch vehicle
This Template lists historical, current, and future space rockets that at least once attempted (but not necessarily succeeded in) an orbital launch or that are planned to attempt such a launch in the future Symbol ^† indicates past or current rockets that attempted orbital launches but never succeeded (never did or has yet to perform a successful orbital launch)