CERES 1 rocket developed by private Beijing company deploys two satellites

Data obtained by the spacecraft will help with early warnings of typhoons, downpours and other extreme weather events and will also support research on climate change.

Starpool 1A, made by Ellipspace, another private satellite maker in Beijing, is a remote-sensing satellite tasked with obtaining images of designated areas on the ground.

The solid-propellant Ceres 1 is about 20 meters tall and has a diameter of 1.4 meters. With a liftoff weight of 33 metric tons, it is capable of sending a 300 kilogram satellite or several satellites with a combined weight of 300 kg, to a 500 km sun-synchronous orbit, or 350 kg payloads to a low-Earth orbit at an altitude of 200 km.

Galactic Energy has now carried out 10 successful orbital launch missions with CERES 1 rockets, far outperforming its private competitors in China. The flights have placed 35 commercial satellites into space.