The Hyperbola-1 (aka Shuang Quxian-1, SQX-1) (Chinese: 双曲线一号) rocket is 20.8 m (68 ft) tall, 1.4 m (4 ft 7 in) in diameter and weighs 31 t (34 tons). It consists of four all solid fuel stages, guided by liquid fuel attitude control engines.[1] It can launch 300 kg (660 lb) into low Earth orbit (LEO).[2] The rocket might be based on Chinese military missiles (perhaps DF-11 or DF-15). The first stage of the rocket is equipped with four grid fins.[1] The launch price is reported around US$5 million.[3]

Hyperbola-1
FunctionLaunch vehicle
Manufactureri-Space
Country of originChina
Cost per launchUS$5 million
Size
Height24 m (79 ft)
Diameter1.4 m (4 ft 7 in)
Mass42,000 kg (93,000 lb)
Stages4
Capacity
Payload to Low Earth orbit
Mass520 kg (1,150 lb)
Payload to SSO
Mass300 kg (660 lb)
Associated rockets
ComparableCeres-1, Minotaur IV
Launch history
StatusActive
Launch sitesJSLC
Total launches7
Success(es)3
Failure(s)4
Partial failure(s)0
First flight25 July 2019
Last flight11 July 2024
First stage
Powered by1 Solid
Maximum thrust770 kilonewtons (170,000 lbf)
Burn time56 seconds
PropellantSolid
Second stage
Powered by1 Solid
Maximum thrust597 kilonewtons (134,000 lbf)
Burn time60 seconds
PropellantSolid
Third stage
Powered by1 Solid
Maximum thrust195 kilonewtons (44,000 lbf)
Burn time56 seconds
PropellantSolid
Fourth stage
Powered by1 Solid
Maximum thrust60 kilonewtons (13,000 lbf)
Burn time50 seconds
PropellantSolid

History

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The successful maiden flight was on 25 July 2019, at 05:00 UTC from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center.[4] It launched from a movable supporting platform.[3] It placed numerous payloads,[5] among them the CAS-7B amateur radio satellite, into orbit 300 km (190 mi) above Earth. CAS-7B decayed from orbit 6 August 2019.[6] It was the first Chinese private company to achieve orbit (orbital launches of other private companies before had failed).[7]

A second launch occurred on 1 February 2021, at 08:15 UTC (16:15 Beijing Time) from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center with 6 unidentified satellites but failed to reach orbit.[8] A subsequent investigation revealed that a piece of insulation had broken off and got stuck in the turning mechanism of grid fin Number IV. When the piece was blown away, the control system then suddenly overcompensated, resulting in the rocket being ripped apart by excessive aerodynamic forces.[9] The rocket was named "Tianshu" because its outer fuselage was covered with the artistic creations (images of compound made-up Chinese characters) of the contemporary artist Xu Bing.[8]

iSpace launched a third Hyperbola-1 solid-rocket vehicle on 3 August 2021.[10] SpaceNews was reporting the same day that the outcome of the launch was unknown, but that amateur video of the launch had been posted, but then deleted from Chinese social media.[10] After most of the day had passed, the Chinese official media Xinhua reported that the launch was unsuccessful due to off-nominal performance of the rocket which resulted in a failure to achieve orbit.[11] An official statement released by the company itself the following day clarified that the failure was caused by a malfunctioning in the fairing separation process, that precluded the payload from reaching the target orbit. A fourth launch attempt on May 13, 2022, was unsuccessful as well.[9]

In April 2023, i-Space performed a fifth launch of the Hyperbola-1 which successfully reached orbit without a payload ,[12] and then followed with another launch on 17 December 2023 that placed the DEAR-1 satellite from Chinese company Azspace into a 500 kilometre SSO orbit.[13]

Launches

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The following table indicates the launches to date:[14][15][16]

Flight number Launch vehicle Serial number Date (UTC) Launch site Payload Orbit Results
1 Hyperbola-1 Y1 25 July 2019

05:00

LS-95A, JSLC CAS-7B

undisclosed payloads

LEO Success
2 Hyperbola-1 Y2 1 February 2021

08:15

LS-95A, JSLC undisclosed payloads SSO Failure
3 Hyperbola-1 Y5 3 August 2021

07:39

LS-95B, JSLC Jilin-1 Mofang-01A SSO Failure
4 Hyperbola-1 Y4 13 May 2022

07:09

LS-95B, JSLC Jilin-1 Mofang-01A (R) SSO Failure
5 Hyperbola-1 Y6 7 April 2023

04:00

LS-95A, JSLC No payload (Flight test) SSO Success
6 Hyperbola-1 Y7 17 December 2023

07:00

LS-95A, JSLC DEAR-1/Liangxi-1 SSO Success
7 Hyperbola-1 Y8 11 July 2024

07:00

LS-95A, JSLC Yunyao-1 15-17 SSO Failure
8 Hyperbola-1 Y10 2024 LS-95A, JSLC TBA SSO Planned

References

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  1. ^ a b "星际荣耀". www.i-space.com.cn. Retrieved 2024-06-02.
  2. ^ ""双曲线一号S火箭"首飞成功!星际荣耀近期型谱计划出炉! | 航天爱好者网". 2018-04-08. Archived from the original on 2018-04-08. Retrieved 2024-06-02.
  3. ^ a b "Chinese Private-Sector Company Launches a History-Making Rocket". Engineering.com. Retrieved 2024-06-02.
  4. ^ Huang, Echo (2019-07-25). "A private Chinese space firm successfully launched a rocket into orbit". Quartz. Retrieved 2024-06-02.
  5. ^ Todd, David (2019-07-25). "Chinese commercial launch firm iSpace launches cubesats on its Hyperbola-1 rocket". Seradata. Retrieved 2024-06-02.
  6. ^ "Technical details for satellite CAS 7B". N2YO.com - Real Time Satellite Tracking and Predictions. Retrieved 2024-06-02.
  7. ^ "Chinese private company reaches orbit for first time – Spaceflight Now". Retrieved 2024-06-02.
  8. ^ a b Bergin, Chris (2021-02-01). "Chinese Hyperbola-1 rocket fails during its second launch". NASASpaceFlight.com. Retrieved 2024-06-02.
  9. ^ a b Mooney, Justin (2022-05-13). "Hyperbola-1, China's first privately-owned rocket, fails in 2nd consecutive return to flight mission". NASASpaceFlight.com. Retrieved 2024-06-02.
  10. ^ a b Jones, Andrew (2021-08-03). "Mystery surrounds Chinese private rocket launch attempt". SpaceNews. Retrieved 2024-06-02.
  11. ^ "Flight test of China's commercial carrier rocket fails - Xinhua | English.news.cn". www.xinhuanet.com. Retrieved 2024-06-02.
  12. ^ Jones, Andrew (2023-11-02). "China's iSpace launches and lands rocket test stage". SpaceNews. Retrieved 2024-06-02.
  13. ^ "我国成功发射双曲线一号商业运载火箭-新闻-上海证券报·中国证券网". news.cnstock.com. Retrieved 2024-06-02.
  14. ^ "Shuang Quxian-1 (SQX-1, Hyperbola-1)". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 2024-06-02.
  15. ^ "我国成功发射双曲线一号商业运载火箭". Shanghai Securities News. 17 December 2023. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
  16. ^ "刚刚, "梁溪号"卫星发射升空!". sohu.com. 17 December 2023. Retrieved 18 December 2023.