Kinetica-1 rocket failure marks setback in China’s record-breaking launch year

A Chinese Kinetica-1 solid rocket failed shortly after liftoff at 01:03 UTC, on December 27 marking a setback in the country's ambitious space goals.

The rocket launched from the Dongfeng Commercial Space Innovation Test Area at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, but the third stage lost attitude just three seconds after ignition, triggering the self-destruct mechanism, Caliber.Az reports via foreign media.

CAS Space, the operator of the rocket, confirmed the failure and stated that an investigation into the cause is underway. The rocket had been carrying an undisclosed number of payloads, including the CASAA-Sat satellite and DEAR-3, a cargo spacecraft from Chinese commercial firm AZSpace.

The launch came as part of a larger push by China in 2024 to increase its space activities, surpassing the national record for the number of launches in a calendar year. The Kinetica-1 mission was the 68th launch attempt of 2024, surpassing the previous record of 67 set in 2023. This includes two failures: one involving the Kinetica-1 and another with iSpace's Hyperbola-1 rocket in July.

In total, China has continued to expand its space activities despite challenges with older rocket technologies, including a reliance on hypergolic Long March 2, 3, and 4 series rockets, and solid rockets like the Kinetica-1 and Ceres-1.

The country has also faced difficulties in meeting its launch targets, falling short of the projected 100 launches for the year. Around 70 of these launches were from the state-owned China Academy of Space Technology (CASC), while around 30 came from commercial companies. Additionally, China has been working to alleviate bottlenecks in launch facilities, including new commercial launch sites at Wenchang and Jiuquan, as well as sea-based launches.

Despite these setbacks, China has made significant progress, launching over 260 spacecraft in 2024, including the first flights for the Qianfan (Thousand Sails) and Guowang (National Net) mega constellations. These projects are expected to continue driving China's space ambitions and increase its launch cadence in the years to come.

The Kinetica-1 failure underscores the ongoing challenges that China faces in scaling its space activities, even as it remains a leading player in the global space industry. CAS Space is also preparing for the 2025 debut of the Kinetica-2 rocket, which is set to launch the Qingzhou low-cost cargo spacecraft.

By Tamilla Hasanova