China launches six satellites with its new solid propellant rocket

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China launches six satellites with its new solid propellant rocket

Beijing: China on Wednesday successfully launched six new satellites into space with its new solid-propellant rocket, which made its debut and is stated to be the country’s largest.

The ZK 1A, a new model of the carrier rocket, conducted its maiden flight at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in north-western China, becoming the country's largest and most powerful solid-propellant rocket, official media here reported.

The satellites included a new space technology test satellite and a test satellite for probing atmospheric density.

The 30-metre rocket placed six satellites into a pre-set orbit, the state-run China Daily reported.

The ZK 1A has a length of 30 metres, a diameter of 2.65 metres and a lift-off weight of 135 metric tons.

It is capable of sending satellites with a combined weight of 1.5 tons to a typical sun-synchronous orbit about 500 kms above the Earth, the report said.

The ZK 1A replaces the Long March 11 rocket which is 20.8 metres tall, with a diameter of 2 metres and a liftoff weight of 58 tons, it said.

Meanwhile, China's Tianzhou-3 cargo craft which has detached from the under-construction space station re-entered the atmosphere in a controlled manner on Wednesday, sparking concerns over the fall of its debris.

The China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) said most of the spacecraft's components burned up during the re-entry, and a small amount of its debris fell into the scheduled safe waters of the South Pacific.

Launched in September 2021, the Tianzhou-3 cargo craft delivered about six tonnes of supplies to the country's space station, which is under construction.

China Space mission China Manned Space Agency CMSA China Space Station CSS Space exploration ZK 1A Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre solid-propellant rocket Long March 11 rocket Tianzhou-3