Family: Kinetica
Kinetica 1
Launch statistics
- 15
- Launches (as of July 27, 2026)
- 4
- Successes
- 0
- Failures
- 100.0 %
- Success rate
Kinetica 1, known in Chinese as Lijian-1 (LJ-1, "Powerful Rocket-1"), is a small-lift orbital launch vehicle developed by CAS Space, a company linked to the Chinese Academy of Sciences. It measures 29.7 m tall and 2.65 m in diameter and weighs 135 tonnes at liftoff. It consists entirely of four solid-fuel stages, an architecture that simplifies operations and shortens preparation times compared with liquid-propellant launchers. Its stated capacity is 2 tonnes to low Earth orbit or 1.5 tonnes to a 500 km Sun-synchronous orbit, placing it in the small-satellite and shared constellation-mission segment. Thrust steps down across the four stages: 2,066.8 kN on the first, 1,081.2 kN on the second, 439.3 kN on the third and 78 kN on the fourth, which handles fine orbital adjustment. The vehicle operates from pad LS-130 at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center and has specialised in rideshare missions: it routinely deploys between five and a dozen satellites per flight, for both Chinese and international customers. It is the first member of the Kinetica series presented by CAS Space as a launch vehicle range for a shared space age.
History
Development and maiden flight
CAS Space conducted ground tests of the four-stage Kinetica 1 in November 2021, as part of a broader push by Chinese industry to develop new solid rockets that would boost overall space capabilities. The maiden flight took place on 27 July 2022 from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center and sent 6 satellites into Sun-synchronous orbit.
Rising cadence
The second flight, on 7 June 2023, carried a large batch of payloads including Shiyan 24A and B plus some twenty undisclosed satellites. From 2024 the cadence accelerated markedly: three launches that year and five in 2025, on missions that deployed Earth-observation constellations such as Jilin-1 and Taijing alongside Yunyao weather satellites and international payloads including OmanSat 1 and two Thumbsats.
Sole failure and an orbital controversy
Flight Y6, on 27 December 2024, is the only failure on the record: it was attributed to third-stage instability and around a dozen payloads were lost. The vehicle returned to flight successfully on 21 May 2025 and has since flown without incident. The Y11 launch of 10 December 2025 drew controversy: according to SpaceX, payload deployment was not coordinated with other satellite operators and led to a near-collision with a Starlink satellite.
Record
Through the launch of 23 July 2026, Kinetica 1 had accumulated 15 flights with 14 successes and 1 failure, all from the same Jiuquan pad and almost all towards Sun-synchronous orbit. The busiest stretch came in 2025, when the vehicle flew five times, and the pace held into 2026 with four further missions by mid-year. That record has made the rocket a routine ride for Chinese Earth-observation operators, whose Jilin-1 and Taijing spacecraft appear on the manifest of most flights, while the four-stage solid architecture keeps turnaround between campaigns short.
Launch timeline
| Date | Launch site | Outcome | Payload |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 23, 2026, 11:33 PM | Launch Area 130 | Success | Share-ride of 5 commercial Earth observation and technology demonstration satellites to SSO, including SpaceTY's Tianyi-48: * Yinglong Fengguang-1 * Zhonghang Hongwai 1/Xiguang 2-03 * Tianyi-48 (Chenguang-1) * Gande 1-01 * Jitianxing A-04 |
| Jun 15, 2026, 3:44 AM | Launch Area 130 | Success | 8 Earth observation satellites for the Jilin-1 commercial Earth observation satellites constellation: * High Resolution-04D 01-02 * High Resolution-05D 01-02 * High Resolution-07C 04 * High Resolution-07D 02-04 |
| May 15, 2026, 4:33 AM | Launch Area 130 | Success | Share-ride of 5 satellites to sun-synchronous orbit: * Taijing-3-05A/B * Tianyi-50 * Tianyan-27 * Jilin-1 HR-03D-55 |
| Apr 14, 2026, 4:03 AM | Launch Area 130 | Success | 8 Earth observation satellites for the Jilin-1 commercial Earth observation satellites constellation: * High Resolution-07A 02-04 * High Resolution-07B 02-04 * High Resolution-07C 02-03 |
Images