Ceres-1 / Ceres-1S

Overview

Four-stage small-lift launch vehicle with three solid-propellant stages and a hydrazine upper stage. The sea-launched Ceres-1S variant flies from a platform in the Yellow Sea.

Operational since 2020 and China's most-flown private rocket, with 23 launches and 21 successes from land and sea. It suffered its second failure (Y19) in November 2025, traced to an overheated upper-stage engine control cable; the vehicle returned to flight successfully in January 2026 with the Ceres-1S Y7 mission, its most recent flight to date.

Key Specs