07 November 2020
Commercial space manufacturer Galactic Energy (Beijing Xinghe Dongli Space Technology Co. Ltd.) succeeded in launching its 4-stage, solid propellant Ceres 1 rocket from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre on 7 November at 15:12 BJT, sending a satellite into 500 km SSO.
"Reaching orbit is the most basic threshold for a rocket company. Only when you cross this threshold can you talk about business and the market. Although China's commercial rocket companies started 30 years later than the United States, they are supported by national policies and encouraged by the capital market. With the unremitting efforts of entrepreneurs, the sun-synchronous orbit was today reached - in only five years of development. This is a very remarkable achievement, marking the arrival of China's commercial aerospace era. Galactic Energy entered as the first domestic company the 500 km sun-synchronous orbit what signifies that we have the ability to engage in commercial launch services, but this is only the beginning. Our goal is to make commercial rockets more reliable, more economical, and higher-density launches, which will be beneficial to complement China's state aerospace, help the rapid development of China's commercial aerospace industry." said Dr. Liu Baiqi, CEO of Galactic Energy on the companies WeChat account after the successful launch. 
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photos from launch preparation on the PLA Daily's WeChat account...