Chinese Gravity-1 rocket blasts off at sea with 9 satellites, validates capability to support cross-sea, long-range launch operations: developer
Global Times
By Li Yu
Published: Jul 22, 2026 11:00 PM
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The Gravity-1 launch vehicle developed by ORIENSPACE blasted off at 10:54 am on Wednesday from the East China Sea, sending nine satellites into their preset orbits while simultaneously conducting one payload experiment, marking the first far-sea launch of a private commercial rocket, the Global Times learned.
The Gravity-1 launch vehicle lifted off from a launch vessel operated by the Oriental Aerospace Port in Haiyang, Yantai, East China's Shandong Province, the country's sole commercial maritime launch base and the location where the rocket was assembled. According to the Xinhua News Agency, the launch was conducted under the direction of the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center.
The mission primarily tested Gravity-1's ability to operate under far-sea conditions, and validated the adaptability of the rocket's solid-propellant booster configuration to complex sea conditions, as well as its ability to remain in a launch-ready state for an extended period before liftoff, according to press releases provided to the Global Times by the Haiyang aerospace industry development center on Wednesday.
Gravity-1 is the world's first medium-lift launch vehicle with strap-on boosters that are all powered by solid propellant motors. This 30-meter launch vehicle has a mass of 405 tons and liftoff thrust of 600 tons. Its payload to low earth orbit is 6.5 tons, and its payload to 500-kilometer sun-synchronous orbit is 4.2 tons.