Kuaizhou

Kuaizhou (KZ, Chinese: 快舟; pinyin: kuàizhōu, meaning "speedy vessel")^[1] (also called Feitian Emergency Satellite Launch System, Feitian-1, FT-1)^[2]^[3]^[4] is a family of Chinese "quick-reaction" orbital launch vehicles. Flying since 2013, Kuaizhou 1 and 1A consist of three solid-fueled rocket stages, with a liquid-fueled fourth stage as part of the satellite system.^[5] Kuaizhou 11, which flew an unsuccessful maiden flight in July 2020, is a larger model able to launch a 1,500 kilograms (3,300 lb) payload into low Earth orbit. Heavy-lift models KZ-21 and KZ-31 are in development.^[6] The Kuaizhou series of rockets is manufactured by ExPace, a subsidiary of China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC), as their commercial launch vehicles.^[7]^[8]

History[]

The rocket series is based on CASIC's ASAT and BMD mid-course interceptor rockets, in particular the DF-21 IRBM (another Chinese rocket that was based on DF-21 was the Kaituozhe-1). Development on the KZ rockets started in 2009. The Kuaizhou rockets were to provide an integrated launch vehicle system with the rapid ability to replace Chinese satellites that might be damaged or destroyed in an act of aggression in orbit. The vehicle uses mobile launch platform. The rocket is operated by the Chinese 2nd Artillery.^[7]^[9]^[5]

The maiden flight of Kuaizhou 1 rocket, orbiting the Kuaizhou 1 natural disaster monitoring satellite, occurred on 25 September 2013, launched from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center.^[10]

Second flight of Kuaizhou 1 rocket, orbiting the Kuaizhou 2 natural disaster monitoring satellite, was launched at 06:37 UTC on 21 November 2014, again from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center.^[5]^[1]

The first commercial launch inaugurated the Kuaizhou 1A version on 9 January 2017, from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. It placed three small satellites into a polar orbit.^[11]

The maiden launch of Kuaizhou 11 was on 10 July 2020. The launch was a failure.

Specifications[]

The solid-fuel KZ-1A can place 200 kg payload into a sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of 700 kilometres. The KZ-11^[12] version is able to put 1000 kg to the same orbit.

Launch preparations are designed to take very little time, and the launch can be conducted on rough terrain.^[8] The rocket's low requirements for launch help with cost savings, yielding a launch price under US$10,000 per kilogram of payload. This price level is very competitive in the international market.^[9]

Satellites can be installed on a Kuaizhou rocket and stored in a maintenance facility. Once needed, the rocket is deployed by a Transporter erector launcher (TEL) vehicle to a secure location. Launch readiness time can be as short as several hours.^[13]^[4]

Models[]

Rocket	First launch	Payload fairing size	Payload to LEO	Payload to SSO	Lift-off mass	Length	Diameter	Payload cost
Kuaizhou 1 (KZ-1)	25 September 2013			430 kg (950 lb) (500 km)^[5]^[14] ^[15]^[16]	30–32 tonnes^[5]	19.4 m (64 ft)	1.4 m (4 ft 7 in)
Kuaizhou 1A (KZ-1A)	9 January 2017 (UTC)	1.2–1.4 m (3 ft 11 in–4 ft 7 in)^[17]	300 kg (660 lb) ^[18]	250 kg (550 lb) (500 km) 200 kg (440 lb) (700 km)^[17]	30 tonnes, TEL-capable^[14]	19.4 m (64 ft)^[17]	1.4 m (4 ft 7 in)^[17]	$20,000/kg ($9,100/lb)^[19]
Kuaizhou 11 (KZ-11)	10 July 2020 ^[20]	2.2–2.6 m (7 ft 3 in–8 ft 6 in)^[17]	1,500 kg (3,300 lb)	1,000 kg (2,200 lb) (700 km)^[17]	78 tonnes,^[17] TEL-capable^[14]		2.2 m (7 ft 3 in)^[17]	$10,000/kg ($4,500/lb)^[9]
Kuaizhou 21 (KZ-21)	2025 (projected)^[14]		20,000 kg (44,000 lb)^[6]				4 m (13 ft)^[6]
Kuaizhou 31 (KZ-31)	In development^{[citation needed]}		70,000 kg (150,000 lb)^[6]				4 m (13 ft) (engines)^[6]

List of launches[]

Flight No.	Date (UTC)	Launch site	Version; Flight number	Payload	Orbit	Result
1	25 September 2013 04:37 ^[10]	Jiuquan, LA-4	Kuaizhou 1; F-1		SSO	Success
2	21 November 2014 06:37 ^[5]	Jiuquan, LA-4	Kuaizhou 1; F-2		SSO	Success
3	9 January 2017 04:11	Jiuquan, LA-4	Kuaizhou 1A; F-1	Jilin-1-03	SSO	Success
4	29 September 2018 04:13	Jiuquan, LA-4	Kuaizhou 1A; F-2		SSO	Success
5	30 August 2019 23:41	Jiuquan, LA-4	Kuaizhou 1A; F-3		SSO	Success
6	13 November 2019 03:40	Jiuquan, LA-4	Kuaizhou 1A; F-4	Jilin-1-02A	SSO	Success
7	17 November 2019 09:52 ^[21]	Jiuquan, LA-4	Kuaizhou 1A; F-5	A and B	LEO	Success
8	7 December 2019 02:55 ^[22]	Taiyuan,	Kuaizhou 1A; F-6	Jilin-1-02B	SSO	Success
9	7 December 2019 08:52 ^[22]	Taiyuan,	Kuaizhou 1A; F-7	A/B, -16/17, A/B	SSO	Success
10	16 January 2020 03:02 ^[23]	Jiuquan, LA-4	Kuaizhou 1A; F-8		LEO	Success
11	12 May 2020 01:16 ^[24]	Jiuquan, LA-4	Kuaizhou 1A; F-9	and	LEO	Success
12	10 July 2020 04:17 ^[25]	Jiuquan, LA-4	Kuaizhou 11; F-1	Jilin-1-02E and	SSO	Failure
13	12 September 2020 05:02	Jiuquan, LA-4	Kuaizhou 1A; F-10	Jilin-1 Gaofen-02C	SSO	Failure
14	2021^[26]^[27]	Jiuquan, LA-4	Kuaizhou 1A; F-11	Jilin-1 Gaofen-02D	SSO	Planned
15	2021^[28]^[27]	Jiuquan, LA-4	Kuaizhou 1A; F-12	Jilin-1 Gaofen-02F	SSO	Planned
16	2021^[29]	Jiuquan, LA-4	Kuaizhou 11; F-2	JBST, Xiangrikui 1A/1B, TY 4, Zhongwei 1	SSO	Planned

References[]

^ Jump up to: ^a ^b Clark, Stephen (21 November 2014). "China launches for the second time in 24 hours". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
^ "Kuaizhou-1 (KZ-1) / Fei Tian 1".
^ "Chinese Kuaizhou-1A rocket launches several small satellites". 9 January 2017.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b "China Unveils New Rocket, People Get Real Curious About What It's for". 13 November 2014.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Barbosa, Rui C. (21 November 2014). "China launches Kuaizhou-2 in second launch within 24 hours". NASASpaceFlight.com. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "China to test large solid-fuel rocket engine". China Daily. 25 December 2017. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b Keane, Phillip (20 September 2016). "ExPace, China's Very Own SpaceX". Asian Scientist.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b "First commercial space base to be built in Wuhan". SpaceDaily. 14 September 2016.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c Lin, Jeffrey; Singer, P.W. (7 October 2016). "China's Private Space Industry Prepares To Compete With SpaceX And Blue Origin". Popular Science. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b "China launches satellite to monitor natural disaster". Xinhua. 25 September 2013.
^ Clark, Stephen (9 January 2017). "Kuaizhou rocket lifts off on first commercial mission". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved 9 January 2017.
^ Gunter's space page: Kuaizhou-11 (KZ-11)
^ "New rocket readies for liftoff in 2016". SpaceDaily. 10 November 2015.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c ^d "Kuai Zhou (Fast Vessel)". China Space Report. Archived from the original on 11 March 2018. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
^ http://spaceflights.news/?launch=kuaizhou-1-•-jilin-1
^ "TSE - Kuaizhou".
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h "快舟十一号小型固体运载火箭(KZ-11)：推迟到2018年首飞" [Kuaizhou 11 small solid launch vehicle (KZ-11): First flight planned for 2018] (in Chinese). 30 October 2017. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtdoZv58kI8
^ Zhou, Xin (30 October 2017). "Kuaizhou-11 to send six satellites into space". Xinhua. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
^ "Next Launch". twitter.com. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
^ "KL-Alpha A, KL-Alpha B Mission (Kuaizhou 1A) - RocketLaunch.Live".
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b Barbosa, Rui C. (7 December 2019). "China conducts double Kuaizhou-1A launch from Taiyuan". NASASpaceflight.com. Retrieved 7 December 2019.
^ Barbosa, Rui C. (16 January 2020). "Kuaizhou-1A lofts Yinhe-1 for China". NASASpaceflight.com. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
^ "First two smallsats launched for Chinese data relay constellation". spaceflightnow.com. 12 May 2011. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
^ "New Chinese satellite launcher fails on first flight". spaceflightnow.com. Spaceflight Now. 10 July 2020. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
^ "【TBD】快舟一号甲 • 吉林一号遥感卫星星座 • 高分02-D星 • Kuaizhou-1A • Jinlin-1(Gaofen02-D)". spaceflightfans.cn (in Chinese). 20 February 2021. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b Clark, Stephen (13 September 2020). "Chinese smallsat launcher fails". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved 14 September 2020.
^ "【TBD】快舟一号甲 • ��林一号遥感卫星星座 • 高分02-F星 • Kuaizhou-1A • Jinlin-1(Gaofen02-F)". spaceflightfans.cn (in Chinese). 14 February 2021. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
^ Krebs, Gunter (3 December 2020). "Kuaizhou-11 (KZ-11)". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 30 April 2021.

[sfn-20141121-1] Jump up to: ^a ^b Clark, Stephen (21 November 2014). "China launches for the second time in 24 hours". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved 22 November 2014.

[2] "Kuaizhou-1 (KZ-1) / Fei Tian 1".

[3] "Chinese Kuaizhou-1A rocket launches several small satellites". 9 January 2017.

[news.vice.com-4] Jump up to: ^a ^b "China Unveils New Rocket, People Get Real Curious About What It's for". 13 November 2014.

[nsf-20141121-5] Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Barbosa, Rui C. (21 November 2014). "China launches Kuaizhou-2 in second launch within 24 hours". NASASpaceFlight.com. Retrieved 10 March 2018.

[chinadaily-20171225-6] Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "China to test large solid-fuel rocket engine". China Daily. 25 December 2017. Retrieved 10 March 2018.

[AsianScientist-20160920-7] Jump up to: ^a ^b Keane, Phillip (20 September 2016). "ExPace, China's Very Own SpaceX". Asian Scientist.

[spacedaily-20160914-8] Jump up to: ^a ^b "First commercial space base to be built in Wuhan". SpaceDaily. 14 September 2016.

[popsci-20161007-9] Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c Lin, Jeffrey; Singer, P.W. (7 October 2016). "China's Private Space Industry Prepares To Compete With SpaceX And Blue Origin". Popular Science. Retrieved 10 March 2018.

[xinhua-20130925-10] Jump up to: ^a ^b "China launches satellite to monitor natural disaster". Xinhua. 25 September 2013.

[sfn-20170109-11] Clark, Stephen (9 January 2017). "Kuaizhou rocket lifts off on first commercial mission". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved 9 January 2017.

[:0-12] Gunter's space page: Kuaizhou-11 (KZ-11)

[13] "New rocket readies for liftoff in 2016". SpaceDaily. 10 November 2015.

[chinaspacereport-14] Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c ^d "Kuai Zhou (Fast Vessel)". China Space Report. Archived from the original on 11 March 2018. Retrieved 10 March 2018.

[15] ttp://spaceflights.news/?launch=kuaizhou-1-•-jilin-1

[16] "TSE - Kuaizhou".

[csf-kz11-17] Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h "快舟十一号小型固体运载火箭(KZ-11)：推迟到2018年首飞" [Kuaizhou 11 small solid launch vehicle (KZ-11): First flight planned for 2018] (in Chinese). 30 October 2017. Retrieved 10 March 2018.

[KZ1Alaunchvideo-18] ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtdoZv58kI8

[xinhua-20171030-19] Zhou, Xin (30 October 2017). "Kuaizhou-11 to send six satellites into space". Xinhua. Retrieved 10 March 2018.

[20] "Next Launch". twitter.com. Retrieved 10 July 2020.

[21] "KL-Alpha A, KL-Alpha B Mission (Kuaizhou 1A) - RocketLaunch.Live".

[KZ1A_20191207-22] Jump up to: ^a ^b Barbosa, Rui C. (7 December 2019). "China conducts double Kuaizhou-1A launch from Taiyuan". NASASpaceflight.com. Retrieved 7 December 2019.

[23] Barbosa, Rui C. (16 January 2020). "Kuaizhou-1A lofts Yinhe-1 for China". NASASpaceflight.com. Retrieved 16 January 2020.

[24] "First two smallsats launched for Chinese data relay constellation". spaceflightnow.com. 12 May 2011. Retrieved 12 May 2020.

[25] "New Chinese satellite launcher fails on first flight". spaceflightnow.com. Spaceflight Now. 10 July 2020. Retrieved 10 July 2020.

[26] "【TBD】快舟一号甲 • 吉林一号遥感卫星星座 • 高分02-D星 • Kuaizhou-1A • Jinlin-1(Gaofen02-D)". spaceflightfans.cn (in Chinese). 20 February 2021. Retrieved 30 April 2021.

[SFN20200913-27] Jump up to: ^a ^b Clark, Stephen (13 September 2020). "Chinese smallsat launcher fails". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved 14 September 2020.

[28] "【TBD】快舟一号甲 • ��林一号遥感卫星星座 • 高分02-F星 • Kuaizhou-1A • Jinlin-1(Gaofen02-F)". spaceflightfans.cn (in Chinese). 14 February 2021. Retrieved 30 April 2021.

[29] Krebs, Gunter (3 December 2020). "Kuaizhou-11 (KZ-11)". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 30 April 2021.

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show v t Orbital launch systems
List of orbital launch systems Comparison of orbital launch systems
Current	Angara A5 Antares 230+ Ariane 5 Atlas V Ceres-1 Delta IV Heavy Electron Epsilon Falcon 9 Block 5 Falcon Heavy Firefly Alpha^† GSLV Mk II Mk III H-IIA Hyperbola-1 Jielong 1 Kuaizhou 1 1A 11^† Kaituozhe 2 LauncherOne Long March 2C 2D 2F 3A 3B/E 3C 4B 4C 5 5B 6 7 7A 8 11 Minotaur I IV V C OS-M1^† Pegasus XL Proton-M PSLV Qased Rocket 3^† Safir Shavit Simorgh^† Soyuz-2 2.1a / STA 2.1b / STB 2-1v Unha Vega Zenit 3SL 3SLB 3F Zhuque-1^†
In development	Agnibaan Amur Angara 1.2 Antariksh - 1 Ariane 6 Bloostar Chetak Cyclone-4M Eris Firefly Beta H3 Hyperbola-2 Irtysh Kuaizhou 21 31 Long March 921 rocket 9 Miura 5 Neutron New Glenn New Line 1 Nuri OS-M2 OS-M4 Orbex Prime Phoenix Red Dwarf SLV-1T SLV-VT SLS Block 1 Block 1B Block 2 Soyuz-7 SSLV Starship Terran 1 R Vega C Vega E Vikram - I Vikram - II Vikram - III Vulcan Zero Zhuque-2
Retired	Antares 110 120 130^† 230 Ariane 1 2 3 4 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 Diamant Dnepr Energia Europa^† 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 1 2I 3 3M Lambda 4S 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^† Saturn I IB V Scout SLV Space Shuttle SPARK^† Sparta SS-520 Start-1 Thor Able Ablestar Agena Burner Delta DSV-2U Thorad-Agena Titan II GLV IIIA IIIB IIIC IIID IIIE 34D 23G CT-3 IV Tsyklon original 2 3 Universal Rocket UR-500 Proton Proton-K Rokot Strela Vanguard VLS-1^† Zenit 2 2M
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)