The maiden launch of Chinese carrier rocket Kuaizhou-11 ended in failure on July 10. The rocket was launched at 12:17 pm (Beijing time) from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre, but failed to complete the launch due to a malfunction.
According to a Republic World report, the launch of the rocket Kuaizhou – which means fast ship in Chinese – had already got delayed by nearly three years, and when it finally took off, the mission turned out to be a failure. Kuaizhou-11 was originally supposed to launch in 2018, but available footage suggests an explosion occurred during the first stage of engine testing, delaying the entire process.
The rocket has been developed by ExPace Technology Corporation, which is a subsidiary of the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation. It is a low-cost solid-fuelled carrier rocket that has a lift-off mass of over 70 tonne. Designed to launch satellites, it can lift off a 1 tonne payload to a sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of 700 km.
The rocket performed well for nearly a minute, with glitches occurring after the first and second stage separation. The cause of the failure remains unknown, but is being analysed and investigated, the Chinese state media informed.
The Kuaizhou-11 launch was China’s 19th space mission this year, of which three have reportedly ended in failures.
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