On August 9 (local time), China announced that it had successfully launched a rocket carrying a satellite off the coast near Shandong Province in the Yellow Sea.
China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), a state-owned space enterprise, stated that at approximately 12:31 a.m. on the same day, it launched the Jielong (Smart Dragon, SD)-3 carrier rocket from waters near Rizhao, Shandong Province. CASC added that the rocket successfully delivered the satellite it was carrying into its designated orbit and completed its launch mission successfully.
The SD-3 rocket is primarily used to send satellites and other payloads into sun-synchronous or low-Earth orbits. This was the sixth launch of the SD-3. Previously, in January, a satellite was launched aboard the SD-3 from waters near Haiyang, Shandong Province.
CASC commented, "This is the first time the SD-3 rocket has been launched from waters near Rizhao," and evaluated that "the range of possible launch sites for the SD-3 has been flexibly expanded once again."
CASC also expressed expectations that this will better meet the demands of the commercial launch market, and noted that this launch improved the rocket's adaptability to the hot and humid maritime environment.
Chinese media outlet Science and Technology Daily explained that the SD-3 is the first Chinese carrier rocket to successfully perform a hot launch at sea. A hot launch refers to a method in which the launch vehicle leaves the launch pad using the thrust of its own engines.
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