Private Chinese space company Galactic Energy crossed the finish line ahead of the debut orbital launch of its first two-stage liquid-fueled rocket Pallas-1 (Pallas-1). The official target launch date for this demonstration mission (Demo Flight) defined 1 September 2026 year.
The rocket and all the necessary ground infrastructure are already fully ready for flight:
Launch location: The start will take place from a new one, the company's own launch pad, located on the territory of the Jiuquan Cosmodrome in the Dongfeng Aviation Test Area. Specialists have already completed the assembly and final checks of the flight model of the rocket.
Technical features: "Pallas-1" uses an environmentally safe fuel pair "liquid oxygen - kerosene" (kerolox). Seven Tsangqiun engines are installed on the first stage (CQ-50). The take-off mass of the carrier is about 283 tons, and the carrying capacity is up to 7 tons into low Earth orbit (LEO).
Multiple use: In the future, the first stage of the rocket will be designed as reusable - it will receive landing struts and lattice rudders for vertical landing like the American Falcon 9. However, there are no plans to attempt a degree return during this first test flight, since the appropriate equipment for landing had not yet been installed on this type of rocket.
The success of this mission is critical to Galactic Energy, as it will allow the company to enter the heavier commercial launch market and compete for government contracts to deploy China's large-scale Gowan and Qianfan satellite mega-constellations.
Source: https://spacenews.com