CAS Space conducts 4th flight of rocket model

CAS Space, a Beijing-based rocket maker owned by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, conducted the fourth flight of its Kinetica 1 rocket model, formerly known as ZK 1A, on Wednesday morning.

The Kinetica 1-Y4 rocket lifted off at 7:33 am from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China's Gobi Desert and then placed five satellites into their preset orbit, the company said in a news release.

The "Y4" in the designation code means it was the fourth in the rocket series.

The Kinetica 1 type conducted its debut flight at the Jiuquan center in July 2022, becoming the country's largest and most powerful solid-propellant rocket by that time. Its second launch took place in June 2023 and transported 26 satellites into space. The third flight happened in January to deploy five satellites.