LM-11 Launches 5 Satellites into Orbit

A LM-11 solid launch vehicle lifts off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on September 19,launching the Zhuhai 1-03 group of 5 satellites into orbits.

At 14：42 Beijing time on September 19,a LM-11 solid launch vehicle lifted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center and launched the Zhuhai 1-03 group of 5 satellites into their preset orbits.Zhuhai 1-03 group satellites include a second-generation video micro/nano satellite and 4 second-generation hyper-spectral micro/nano satellites.

The LM-11 solid fuel launch vehicle was developed by the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT) of CASC,which is the only type of carrier rocket in China that can be launched from the land and on the sea.This was another special launch service for its customer since it sent 5 satellites of Zhuhai 1 into space in April 2018.According to LI Tongyu,Chief Commander of LM-11,the two special launch services were under one contract,which would help the customer to complete a constellation deployment task,completing deployment launches with 5 satellites in an orbital plane.

Since its maiden flight in 2015,LM-11 has completed 8 missions with 100%successes,including one launch from the sea and 7 from the land and launched 37 orbiting satellites altogether.Eight consecutive high accuracy orbit insertions,zero quality problem on the rocket and zero window launches show that LM-11 has excellent task adaptability and high reliability.In the future,a 2 m-diameter fairing and larger size LM-11A solid launch vehicle is under development and will further improve the rocket’s adaptability and promote the growth of commercial space sector.

This was the 311th mission of Long March series launch vehicle.(SONG Haowei/China Space News)