Dongfeng Commercial Aerospace Innovation Pilot Zone, northwest China - Recent (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
1. Various of Lijian-1 rocket
2. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Shi Xiaoning, chief designer, Lijian-1 rocket, CAS Space (starting with shot 1/ending with shot 3):
"I think the biggest challenge lies in ensuring mission reliability while reducing launch costs and increasing launch efficiency. In this regard, the Lijian-1 achieved the goal through technological innovation, management model innovation, and quality system innovation."
3. Various of researchers, rocket, launch site
4. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Meng Xiangfu, deputy commander, Lijian-1 rocket, CAS Space (partially overlaid with shot 5/ending with shot 6):
"Going forward, we will firstly enhance our at-sea launch capability, and achieve high-orbit, low-inclination mission response. Secondly, we will optimize production models and improve production efficiency to achieve scheduled, frequent launches. Thirdly, we will reduce labor costs through comprehensive hardware cost optimization and organizational process optimization, thereby lowering the overall cost of a single rocket."
++SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE++
5. Various of rocket
++SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE++
6. Aerial shot of rocket

China on Friday launched a Lijian-1 Y13 carrier rocket that deployed five satellites into orbit, bringing the successfully sent Lijian series satellites to 100 in total.

The rocket blasted off at 12:33 from the Dongfeng commercial space innovation pilot zone in northwest China. It successfully transported the satellites to their planned orbits.

The CAS Space-developed Lijian series currently consists of Lijian-1 and Lijian-2 rockets. The Lijian-1, used in this mission, is a medium-sized solid-propellant launch vehicle designed for the rapid deployment of constellations of microsatellite into medium to low Earth orbits. It has previously set records for China’s multi-satellite launch capability.

This mission achieves a milestone 100 satellites objective for the Lijian series, signifying further breakthroughs in areas including reliability, mission adaptability, and batch production capacity.

"I think the biggest challenge lies in ensuring mission reliability while reducing launch costs and increasing launch efficiency. In this regard, the Lijian-1 achieved the goal through technological innovation, management model innovation, and quality system innovation," said Shi Xiaoning, chief designer of Lijian-1 rocket, CAS Space.

Following the 100-satellite milestone, the research team has outlined clear priorities for the next phase. These include strengthening at-sea launch capability, achieving higher launch cadence with batch production, and optimizing costs across the full industrial chain, so as to further improve the rocket’s mission adaptability and market competitiveness.

"Going forward, we will firstly enhance our at-sea launch capability, and achieve high-orbit, low-inclination mission response. Secondly, we will optimize production models and improve production efficiency to achieve scheduled, frequent launches. Thirdly, we will reduce labor costs through comprehensive hardware cost optimization and organizational process optimization, thereby lowering the overall cost of a single rocket," said Meng Xiangfu, deputy commander of Lijian-1 rocket, CAS Space.