Smart Dragon 3 launches 14 satellites amid debut flight

With its successful debut flight, the model is the largest and strongest in China's solid-propellant rocket fleet. It is capable of sending multiple satellites with a combined weight of 1.5 tons to a sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of 500 kilometers.

The Smart Dragon 3 is now the second Chinese rocket capable of making liftoff both on land and at sea. Previously, China had carried out two ship-based rocket launches using its Long March 11 solid-propellant rocket.

The new rocket is suitable for clients who wish to quickly launch large numbers of their satellites to establish space-based commercial networks as soon as possible, according to Jin Xin, the rocket's project manager.