Jielong 3 (Chinese: 捷龙三号运载火箭, meaning "agile dragon", also known as Smart Dragon 3, SD-3), is a solid fueled orbital launch vehicle developed by China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology's subsidiary China Rocket to launch up to 1500 kg to a 500 km altitude Sun-synchronous orbit. The rocket is 31 meters tall, 2.65 meters in diameter and weighs 145 metric tons. It is a solid fuel, 4 stage orbital rocket.[1] The fairing diameter is 3.35 m. It uses the same rocket motors as the Zhongke-1 (ZK-1, Lijian-1) rocket.

Jielong 3
Maiden launch of Jielong-3
FunctionSmall orbital launch vehicle
ManufacturerCALT
Country of originChina
Size
Height31 m (102 ft)
Diameter2.64 m (8.7 ft)
Mass145,000 kg (320,000 lb)
Stages4
Capacity
Payload to SSO 500 km
Mass1,500 kg (3,300 lb)
Associated rockets
ComparableJielong 1, Minotaur I
Pegasus
Start-1
Electron
Launch history
StatusActive
Launch sitesSpecial converted barge, Yellow Sea
Total launches4
Success(es)4
First flight9 December 2022
Last flight24 September 2024

The maiden flight of Jielong 3 on 9 December 2022, 06:35 UTC was successful. It delivered fourteen small satellites into polar orbit. The satellites were Jilin-1 Gaofen-03D-44-50 and Pingtai-01A01, HEAD 2H, Jinzijing Qilu-1 05 and 06, Tianqi 07, Huoju 1 (Torch 1) and CAS 5A. The launch took place from a floating platform off Yantai, Shandong.

List of launches

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Serial number Flight number Date (UTC) Launch site Payload Orbit Outcome
1 Y1 9 December 2022
06:35[2]
Special converted barge (Tai Rui)
East China Sea
(37.3°N, 123.7°E)
Jilin-1 Gaofen-03D-44-50
Jilin-1 Pingtai-01A01
HEAD 2H
Jinzijing Qilu-1 05, 06
Tianqi 07
Huoju 1
CAS 5A
SSO Success[3][4]
2 Y2 5 December 2023
19:24[5]
Special converted barge (Bo Run Jiu Zhou)
South China Sea
(21.2°N, 112.1°E)
Hulianwang Jishu Shiyan 3 LEO Success
3 Y3 3 February 2024
03:06[6]
Special converted barge (Bo Run Jiu Zhou)
South China Sea
(21.2°N, 112.1°E)
Dongfang Huiyan-GF01
DRO-L
NEXSAT-1
WeiHai-1-01/02
XingShiDai-18/19/20
Zhixing-2A
SSO Success
4 Y4 24 September 2024
02:31[7]
Special converted barge (Dong Fang Hang Tian Gang)
Yellow Sea
(36.4°N, 121.1°E)
Tianyi-41
Luojia 4-01
Fudan-1
Tianyan-15
Jitianxing A-01
Xingshidai-15/21/22
SSO Success
5 Y5 Q4 2024[7] Sea launch platform Scheduled
6 Y6 Q4 2024[7] Sea launch platform Scheduled
7 Y7 Q4 2024[7] Sea launch platform Scheduled
8 Y8 Q4 2024[7] Sea launch platform Scheduled

References

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  1. ^ "Jielong-3 (Smart Dragon-3, SD 3)". Gunter's Space Page.
  2. ^ Jones, Andrew (9 December 2022). "China launches 14 satellites with new solid rocket from mobile sea platform". SpaceNews. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
  3. ^ "丰台少年二号暨少年梦想二号"卫星系列报道——星箭电气对接试验" ["Fengtai Junior No.2 and Junior Dream No.2" Satellite Series Report - Satellite-Rocket Electric Separation Test]. East Highland Youth Science and Technology Museum (in Chinese). 17 October 2022. Retrieved 24 October 2022 – via Weixin QQ.
  4. ^ Gao, Huantao (31 October 2022). "逐梦深空,我国商业航天首颗生物卫星即将发射" [Chasing the dream of deep space, my country's first commercial space satellite is about to launch]. Rocket Pi (in Chinese). Retrieved 31 October 2022 – via Weixin QQ.
  5. ^ "Chinese rocket Smart Dragon-3 launches test satellite". Xinhua. 6 December 2023. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
  6. ^ "China launches powerful Jielong-3 rocket, paves way for more commercial missions". Reuters. 3 February 2024. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
  7. ^ a b c d e "首飞后再亮相,捷龙三号下半年"动作"曝光" [After the maiden flight, the "activity" of Jielong 3 will resume in the second half of the year]. China Rocket (in Chinese). 9 June 2023. Retrieved 9 June 2023.