Ceres-1 is a four-stage small-lift launch vehicle manufactured and operated by Galactic Energy, using solid-propellant motors for its first three stages and a hydrazine propulsion system for the fourth. It is about 20 m tall and 1.4 m in diameter, and can deliver 400 kg to low Earth orbit. Its first launch was on 7 November 2020; a sea-launched variant, Ceres-1S, debuted on 5 September 2023 from a converted barge off Haiyang.
facts
providerGalactic Energy
countryChina
classsmall
payload to LEOkg400
reusableno
first flight2020-11-07
flights total23
flights successful21
last flight2026-01-15
next flightunknown
statusoperational
price per launchUSD4,500,000
crawled events
timeline
- 20232023-09-21Ceres-1 suffers its first launch failure, losing a Jilin-1 satellite (per SpaceNews)as of 2026-07-12
- 2023-09-05Galactic Energy debuts sea-launched Ceres-1S variant off Haiyang (per SpaceNews)as of 2026-07-12
- 20202020-11-07Galactic Energy flies Ceres-1 for the first time, reaching sun-synchronous orbitas of 2026-07-12
sources
[1] en.wikipedia.org ↗
providerwikipedia2026-07-08countrywikipedia2026-07-08classwikipedia2026-07-08payload to LEO (kg)wikipedia2026-07-08first flightwikipedia2026-07-08flights totalwikipedia2026-07-08flights successfulwikipedia2026-07-08last flightwikipedia2026-07-08statuswikipedia2026-07-08price per launch (USD)wikipedia2026-07-08
[2] ll.thespacedevs.com ↗
reusable2026-07-08
faq
Who builds Ceres-1?
Ceres-1 is built by Galactic Energy. as of 2026-07-08
How many times has Ceres-1 flown?
Ceres-1 has flown 23 times. as of 2026-07-08
When did Ceres-1 first fly?
Ceres-1 first flew on 2020-11-07. as of 2026-07-08
Is Ceres-1 reusable?
Ceres-1 is not reusable. as of 2026-07-08