CAS Space's Kinetica-1 Y14 carrier rocket blasts off at 11:44 am from Northwest China's Dongfeng space innovation pilot zone on June 15, 2026. Photo: Courtesy of CAS Space

Chinese private space company CAS Space's Kinetica-1 Y14 carrier rocket blasted off at 11:44 am on Monday from Northwest China's Dongfeng space innovation pilot zone, sending eight satellites into pre-set orbits. 

The mission was announced a success, with the launch vehicle becoming the first commercial rocket model in China to have delivered more than 100 satellites into space, CAS Space told the Global Times on Monday. 

The mission marked the 14th flight of the Kinetica-1 rocket. To date, the solid-propellant launch vehicle has successfully sent a total of 105 satellites into orbits, with a cumulative payload mass exceeding 15 metric tons, the company said.

The launch also completed Kinetica-1's third consecutive mission in the second quarter of 2026, as the company accelerates efforts to carry out a high-frequency launch schedule this year. CAS Space said the rocket continues to rank first in China's commercial launch services market in terms of market share.

The company highlighted its independently developed launch testing and control software as well as a universal flight control software platform. The testing and control system coordinates the entire ground-based testing and launch process, while the flight control platform manages intelligent in-orbit operations, enabling real-time precise control of the rocket's attitude, trajectory and propulsion systems. 

All eight satellites launched in Monday's mission are high-resolution optical remote-sensing satellites featuring ultra-high resolution, high integration and intelligent capabilities. The satellites are expected to provide highly accurate and multidimensional imaging data to support a range of remote-sensing applications and related industries, said the company. 

Global Times