The Pallas-1 rocket vertical at the pad at Jiuquan's commercial launch test zone in May 2026. Credit: Galactic Energy
HELSINKI — Chinese commercial firm Galactic Energy is ready for a first orbital launch attempt with its Pallas-1 liquid propellant launch vehicle, airspace closure notices reveal.
The Pallas-1 rocket has recently been sighted vertically at a dedicated pad at Dongfeng Commercial Aerospace Innovation Test Zone at Jiuquan spaceport, northwest China. Newly-published airspace warnings now indicate a launch window of between 9:52 p.m. Eastern Aug. 31 and 12:09 a.m. Eastern Sept. 1 (0152–0409 UTC, Sept. 1).
While the rocket is designed for reusability, no recovery attempt of the first stage is expected for the first flight. No payloads have so far been announced ahead of launch. A south-bound trajectory with drop zones over Gansu and Qinghai suggest the launch is aiming for sun-synchronous orbit injection.
Pallas-1 is Galactic Energy’s two-stage liquid launch vehicle, with an optional Eros upper stage for extended missions. It has a 3.35-meter-diameter body, a 4.2-meter-diameter fairing, a liftoff mass of 283 tons, and liftoff thrust of 350 tons, according to Galactic Energy’s webpages. While payload capacity stats have fluctuated during development, the firm states a maximum payload capacity of 7,000 kilograms to low Earth orbit (LEO). The rocket is powered by Cangqiong-50 (CQ-50) kerosene-liquid oxygen engines.
