China's independently developed Lijian-2 Y2 carrier rocket was transferred to its dedicated launch pad at the Dongfeng commercial space innovation pilot zone in northwest China on Monday.
This means it has entered a key pre-launch preparation phase, with the launch expected to take place in the near future.
The Lijian-2 carrier rocket has a carrying capacity of eight tons to a 500-kilometer sun-synchronous orbit and 12 tons for low Earth orbit, and it is able to launch multiple satellites in a single mission or conduct missions such as cargo spacecraft launches.
The rocket is China's first launch vehicle using a "common booster core" design, which allows three basically identical common booster core structures to be combined like building blocks. The design is intended to increase payload capacity while facilitating mass production and reducing costs.
"The assembly and testing of the Lijian-2 Y2 carrier rocket at the launch site are all done. The rocket has been transferred to its dedicated launch pad and will soon undergo rocket-ground interface checks and full-process rehearsals, followed by propellant loading and final launch procedures. The mission will be carried out as planned to execute a low-orbit constellation networking launch," said Li Qinfeng, deputy chief designer of the Lijian-2 carrier rocket at CAS Space Technology Co., Ltd., a leading Chinese commercial space company founded in December 2018.
The Lijian-2 is subsequently planned to conduct its first large-scale low-orbit constellation networking launch using a multi-satellite deployment method, further enhancing China's capability to launch and build low-orbit satellite constellations.
Lijian-2 Y2 carrier rocket transported to dedicated launch pad
