ISTANBUL

Chinese rocket developer Galactic Energy on Tuesday accomplished its first sea launch in the Yellow Sea off the coast of China, deploying four satellites into orbit.

This made it the first private firm in China to chalk up this achievement, Beijing-based Global Times reported.

This launch marked significant milestones in China's commercial launch sector in 2023. It was the world's first unsupported land and sea universal mobile platform launch and the world's first unguided thermal sea launch of a solid rocket.

Galactic Energy's Ceres 1 rocket successfully deployed Tianqi 21-24 satellites, which are part of the Tianqi constellation operated by Beijing-based satellite operator Guodian Gaoke.

This constellation, planned to be fully deployed and operational by 2024, includes 38 low-orbit satellites and multiple ground stations.

The launch took place in Haiyang, Shandong, China’s sole sea launch facility capable of accommodating diverse launch requirements, including small inclination and sun-synchronous orbits.

Galactic Energy has racked up a streak of eight consecutive successful rocket launches, initiating an intensive delivery and launch schedule since the beginning of the year.

In addition, the company is actively engaged in research and development related to liquid rocket technology.