Chinese rocket launches 8 satellites to orbit from ship at sea (video, photos) (Image Credit: Space.com)
China has another sea launch under its belt.
One of the country’s Jielong-3 rockets (also known as Smart Dragon-3) lifted off from a floating platform off the coast of eastern China on Monday (Sept. 23) at 10:31 p.m. EDT (0231 GMT on Sept. 24).
The Smart Dragon-3 carried eight remote-sensing satellites to sun-synchronous orbit (SSO) — a polar path that allows spacecraft to observe patches of Earth under consistent lighting conditions — according to SpaceNews.
The liftoff was the fourth overall for the Smart Dragon-3, SpaceNews reported. The four-stage, 102-foot-tall (31 meters) rocket is capable of delivering about 3,300 pounds (1,500 kilograms) of payload to a 310-mile-high (500 kilometers) SSO.
Related: China’s record-breaking Gravity-1 rocket aces amazing debut launch from ship at sea (video)
Smart Dragon-3 was developed by the state-owned China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, but it’s operated by China Rocket, a commercial spinoff of that enterprise.
Smart Dragon-3 isn’t the only vehicle to use the floating launch pad, which is off the coast of Haiyang city. Ceres-1 and Gravity-1 rockets have also lifted off from the platform, as SpaceNews noted.
Gravity-1’s lone launch to date occurred from the site, and it was quite a spectacle, given the powerful rocket’s almost comically squat appearance. Gravity-1 is just 96 feet (29 m) tall — shorter than the Smart Dragon-3 — but can deliver about 14,300 pounds (6,500 kg) to low Earth orbit.
