Launches / Kuaizhou 1A
Kuaizhou 1A, flown by ExPace
This was ExPace's 3rd launch of 2025, and its 31st in all.
Counting every operator, it was the 291st orbital launch attempt anywhere in 2025, and the eighth from Launch Area 95A.
Two technology demonstration satellites for satellite transmissions of signals for the VHF Data Exchange System (VDES), a successor to the current Automatic Identification System (AIS) on ships and maritime vessels for traffic management at sea with higher bandwidth on new frequencies for secure communications and e-navigation. This project is a joint effort by the China Ministry of Transport's China Transport Telecommunications Information Center and SpaceSail, operator of the Qianfan/G60 constellation.
Kuaizhou 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.
31 flights, 28 of them successful.
ExPace
ExPace is a Chinese space rocket company based in Wuhan, Hubei, China. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of missileer China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC), a Chinese state-owned company, and serves as its commercial rocket division. ExPace is focused on small satellite launchers to low Earth orbit.
34 launches so far, 30 of them successful. The last 5 in a row went to plan.
It went up from Launch Area 95A at Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, China.
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