Gravity-1 ( or YinLi-1) is a solid-propellant expendable medium-lift launch vehicle designed, manufactured and launched by Chinese aerospace company Orienspace. It can carry a payload of up to to LEO or to SSO, enabling the deployment of large-scale satellite constellations. The rocket has a height of , a take-off weight of , a take-off thrust of , and a fairing diameter of . Its maiden launch was conducted from a sea launch platform in the Yellow Sea on January 11, 2024, breaking records as both the world's most powerful solid-fuel carrier rocket and China's most powerful commercial launch vehicle to date. Large pieces of debris were seen during the launch, which carried 3 Yunyao-1 meteorological satellites built by the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology, as part of the planned 90-satellite Yunyao constellation.
Gravity-1 consists of seven solid rocket motors (SRB) in total. The first four side-mounted SRBs are ignited on the ground, while three core boosters are air-lit in sequence. The launch cost for Gravity-1 is around US$39 million. Gravity-1 has a quick-response-time of only five hours between manufacturing completion and launch. Orienspace has signed contracts for the launch of more than one hundred satellites. Gravity-1 is the most powerful rocket consisting of entirely solid-rocket motors. Due to the huge solid rocket motors, large plumes of smoke were produced during the launch.
List of launches Serial number Flight number Date (UTC) Launch site Payload Orbit Outcome1Gravity-1 Y111 January 202405:30 UTCSpecial converted barge (Dong Fang Hang Tian Gang)Offshore waters of Haiyang Port Yunyao-1 18–20 weather satellitesLEO (50° inclination, circular)2Gravity-1 Y211 October 202502:20 UTCSpecial converted barge (Dong Fang Hang Tian Gang)Offshore waters of Haiyang Port Jilin-1 Kuanfu-02B-07Shutianyuxing 01Shutianyuxing 02SSO3Gravity-1 Y422 July 202602:54 UTCSpecial converted barge (Dong Fang Hang Tian Gang)Offshore waters of Shanghai 9 SatellitesSSO 4Gravity-1 Y315 September 202622:00 UTCSpecial converted barge (Dong Fang Hang Tian Gang)Offshore waters of Haiyang Port Qianfan Jigui Group 26 (8 sats)+ EUHT Test satelliteSSO
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