China fails space launch for the first time in 2023 - Ceres-1 rocket lost along with Gaofen-04B satellite

China has had dozens of successful launches in a row this year, but the streak has been broken. The Ceres-1 rocket failed to deliver the Gaofen-04B satellite into orbit.

Here's What We Know

Ceres-1 is a four-stage solid-propellant rocket with a height of almost 20 metres. It was developed by Galactic Energy, and earlier this month it made its ninth successful launch, sending three satellites into space at once.

Unfortunately, the tenth mission failed. Ceres-1 launched from a spaceport in the Gobi Desert. The cause of the accident was an anomaly in the engine of one of the upper stages. The first stage worked in normal mode. This was announced by Galactic Energy a few hours after the failure.

The task of Ceres-1 was to launch the Gaofen-04B satellite into orbit. It was to be part of Jilin-1, the world's largest system for remotely observing our planet. The constellation consists of 108 spacecraft. China intends to add 30 more satellites to the constellation by the end of 2023.

Source: scmp