Jielong 3

Jielong 3

Maiden launch of Jielong-3
Function	Small orbital launch vehicle
Manufacturer	CALT
Country of origin	China
Size
Height	31 m (102 ft)
Diameter	2.64 m (8.7 ft)
Mass	145,000 kg (320,000 lb)
Stages	4
Capacity
Payload to SSO 500 km
Mass	1,500 kg (3,300 lb)
Associated rockets
Comparable	Jielong 1, Minotaur I Pegasus Start-1 Electron
Launch history
Status	Active
Launch sites	Special converted barge, Yellow Sea
Total launches	3
Success(es)	3
First flight	9 December 2022
Last flight	3 February 2024
[edit on Wikidata]

Jielong 3 (Chinese: 捷龙三号运载火箭, meaning "agile dragon", also known as Smart Dragon 3, SD-3), is a solid fueled orbital launch vehicle developed by China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology's subsidiary China Rocket to launch up to 1500 kg to a 500 km altitude Sun-synchronous orbit. The rocket is 31 meters tall, 2.65 meters in diameter and weighs 145 metric tons. It is a solid fuel, 4 stage orbital rocket.^[1] The fairing diameter is 3.35 m. It uses the same rocket motors as the Zhongke-1 (ZK-1, Lijian-1) rocket.

The maiden flight of Jielong 3 on 9 December 2022, 06:35 UTC was successful. It delivered fourteen small satellites into polar orbit. The satellites were Jilin-1 Gaofen-03D-44-50 and Pingtai-01A01, HEAD 2H, Jinzijing Qilu-1 05 and 06, Tianqi 07, Huoju 1 (Torch 1) and CAS 5A. The launch took place from a floating platform off Yantai, Shandong.