Orienspace's all-solid medium-lift launch vehicle — 6.5 t to LEO and 4.2 t to 500 km SSO; first flew from a sea platform in January 2024.
Gravity-1 (Yinli-1)
Orienspace's all-solid medium-lift launch vehicle — 6.5 t to LEO and 4.2 t to 500 km SSO; first flew from a sea platform in January 2024.
Description
Gravity-1 (Yinli-1) is a commercial solid-propellant orbital launch vehicle developed by Orient Space (Orienspace, Beijing) and the most powerful solid-fuel rocket in the world by payload capacity. The vehicle completed its inaugural flight on January 11, 2024, launching from a sea platform in the Yellow Sea and successfully deploying a commercial Earth observation constellation — making Gravity-1 the world's largest solid-fuel rocket to reach orbit on a first flight.
Gravity-1 is a three-and-a-half-stage vehicle — a solid core with four solid boosters (a LOX/kerosene third stage is offered as an option) — rated by Orienspace at 6.5 t to LEO and 4.2 t to a 500 km SSO. The sea-based launch platform offers flexibility in launch azimuth selection and avoids the range safety constraints of land-based spaceports, enabling optimized SSO injection for Earth observation constellations.
Orienspace plans to follow Gravity-1 with Gravity-2, rated at 21.5 t to LEO and 15 t to a 500 km SSO — positioning the company as a significant player in China's commercial heavy lift market.
Specifications
| Configuration | All solid: 3.5 stages, solid core with 4 solid boosters (a LOX/kerosene third stage is offered as an option) |
|---|---|
| Payload to SSO | 4,200 kg (500 km) |
| Payload to LEO | 6,500 kg |
| First flight | January 11, 2024 (success from sea launch) |
| Achievement | World's first all-solid bundled medium-lift launch vehicle (Orienspace) |
| Launch mode | Sea launch platform (Yellow Sea) |
| Height | 30 m |
| Liftoff mass | 405 t |
| Liftoff thrust | 600 t |
| Fairing diameter | 4.2 m |