A Chinese-produced solid-fueled carrier rocket, the Kuaizhou-11, developed by China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC), will see its maiden launch this year, reports Xinhua. [Special coverage]
The rocket will be mainly responsible for launching low-Earth and Sun-synchronous satellites.
Costs of launching the Kuaizhou-11 will be less than 10,000 U.S. dollars per kg of payload, which is considerably lower than that of its international competitors.
"Compared with common carrier rockets, the Kuaizhou-11 has a short preparation period," said Hu Shengyun, an official with CASIC and deputy to the National People's Congress.
In January, 2017, the Kuaizhou-1A rocket sent three satellites into space in its first commercial mission with a launch cost of less than 20,000 U.S. dollars.
