China's Kuaizhou-11 rocket fails on maiden launch after 3-year delay; 6 satellites lost

The first launch of Kuaizhou-11 (KZ-11), a solid-fueled carrier rocket, failed after its liftoff from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China on July 10. According to media reports, KZ-11 failed to reach its intended orbit and the specific reasons behind the failure are currently being analysed and investigated.

The launch of the rocket, developed by ExPace Technology Corporation, a subsidiary of China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC), was already delayed by three years and ended up in a failure. The low-cost solid-fueled carrier rocket, with a lift-off mass of 70.8 tonnes, was designed to launch low-Earth and Sun-synchronous orbit satellites. 

The Kuaizhou-11 has a larger diameter and stronger capacity with respect to the other rockets from Kuaizhou series launched previously. It can lift a 1.0-ton payload to a sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of 700 kilometres. The three-stage rocket is reportedly based on the DF-21 missile and consists of three solid-fueled stages. 

Read: Rocket Lab Electron Launch failure Causes Loss Of Rocket In Few Minutes After 'anomaly'

A derivative of DongFang-21 missile

The failed Kuaizhou-11 rocket is a derivative of the DongFang-21 missile which was recently showed off by China to deter US aircraft carriers, USS Nimitz and USS Ronald Reagan, in the South China Sea. It was conceived in 2017 and was supposed to have its first flight in 2018 but got delayed multiple times. KZ-11 was supposed to put six satellites in the orbits but failed to do so.

Earlier in May, China had announced the successful launch of a pivotal new rocket carrying a prototype deep-space spacecraft to test its ambition for operating permanent space station and sending astronauts to the moon. The carrier rocket, Long March 5B, was launched from the Wenchang launch site in the southern island of Hainan with an unmanned spacecraft and return capsule.

Read: Rocket Carrying Seven Satellites 'lost' After Take-off From New Zealand Launch Pad

Read: China Warns Citizens In Kazakhstan Of 'unknown Pneumonia' More Lethal Than COVID-19