China's Kinetica 2 rocket sends 18 satellites into orbit

The rocket consists of a multistage core booster, which has a diameter of 3.35 meters, and two side boosters, each also 3.35m in diameter. Its liftoff weight is 625 metric tons, and its maximum thrust is 753 tons. The rocket can transport spacecraft with a combined weight of 8 tons to a typical sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of 500 kilometers, or 12 tons to a low Earth orbit 200 km above Earth.

To date, CAS Space has used its rockets to send 139 satellites and an experimental cargo spacecraft into orbit, with a combined payload weight of more than 27 metric tons, the company said. It claimed to rank first among Chinese commercial rocket contractors in terms of the number of satellites launched and total payload weight.