Pallas-1
The Pallas-1 (Chinese: 智神星一号) is a medium-lift orbital launch vehicle under development by Galactic Energy.[1] It features seven new 40-ton variable thrust Welkin engines burning RP-1 and liquid oxygen (kerolox) in its first stage. The first stage will also have legs and grid fins to allow recovery by vertical landing (much like the SpaceX Falcon 9).[1] The first launch is scheduled to take place in the third quarter of 2024.[2]
Function | Launch Vehicle |
---|---|
Manufacturer | Galactic Energy |
Country of origin | China |
Size | |
Height | 42 m (138 ft) |
Diameter | 3.35 m (11.0 ft) |
Mass | 220,000 kg (490,000 lb) |
Stages | 3 |
Capacity | |
Payload to 400 km (250 mi) LEO | |
Mass | 5,000 kg (11,000 lb) |
Payload to 700 km (430 mi) SSO | |
Mass | 3,000 kg (6,600 lb) |
Associated rockets | |
Comparable | GSLV, Long March 4A, Nuri, ZQ-2 |
Launch history | |
Status | In development |
Total launches | 0 |
First stage | |
Diameter | 3.35 m (11.0 ft) |
Powered by | 7 Welkin |
Maximum thrust | 3,500 kN (790,000 lbf) |
Burn time | 151s |
Propellant | RP-1/LOX |
Second stage | |
Diameter | 3.35 m (11.0 ft) |
Powered by | 1 Welkin Vac |
Maximum thrust | 600 kN (130,000 lbf) |
Burn time | 186s |
Propellant | RP-1/LOX |
Third stage | |
Diameter | 3.35 m (11.0 ft) |
Pallas-1 is planned to be capable of placing a 5-tonne payload into low Earth orbit (LEO), or a 3-tonne payload into a 700-kilometer Sun-synchronous orbit (SSO).[1][3][4] An upgraded variant of the rocket, Pallas-2 (Chinese: 智神星二号), is currently under development. Using three Pallas-1 booster cores as its first stage, Pallas-2 will be capable of putting a 14-tonne payload into low Earth orbit.[5] The first launch of Pallas-2 is expected to take place no earlier than 2026.[2]
References
- Jones, Andrew (20 March 2020). "Galactic Energy Prepares Ceres-1 Rocket for First Launch". IEEE Spectrum. Retrieved 8 September 2021.
- Jones, Andrew (22 July 2023). "Galactic Energy registers sixth consecutive successful launch". SpaceNews. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
- Ng, Kevin James (30 September 2019). "#Ceres1 #Pallas1 – A new Medium Carrier Rocket Company Satellite launcher market set to launch two satellites..." KevinJamesNg.com. Retrieved 8 September 2021.
- Jones, Andrew (7 December 2021). "Chinese private firm Galactic Energy puts five satellites in orbit with second launch". SpaceNews. Retrieved 7 December 2021.
- "三年回望:我们为什么坚定投资星河动力" [Three-year review: Why we firmly invest in Galactic Energy]. 3sNews (in Chinese). Taibo. 20 February 2021. Retrieved 4 March 2021.