Jielong 3 (, meaning "agile dragon", also known as Smart Dragon 3, SD-3), is a solid fueled orbital launch vehicle developed by China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology's subsidiary China Rocket to launch up to 1500 kg to a 500 km altitude Sun-synchronous orbit (SSO). The rocket is 31 meters tall, 2.65 meters in diameter and weighs 145 metric tons. It is a solid fuel, 4 stage orbital rocket. The fairing diameter is 3.35 m. It uses the same rocket motors as the Kinetica 1 rocket.
The maiden flight of Jielong 3 on 9 December 2022, 06:35 UTC was successful. It delivered fourteen small satellites into polar orbit. The satellites were Jilin-1 Gaofen-03D-44-50 and Pingtai-01A01, HEAD 2H, Jinzijing Qilu-1 05 and 06, Tianqi 07, Huoju 1 (Torch 1) and CAS 5A. The launch took place from a floating platform off Yantai, Shandong.
The carrying capacity of the Jielong 3 launcher initially stood at 1,560 kilograms to 500 kilometres SSO orbits, but this has since increased to 1,600 kilograms by the rocket's fifth launch on 13 January, 2025. Also in January 2025, Gao Lijun from the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) stated that further improvements will be made to the rocket in order to enable it eventually to carry up to two metric tons to 500 km SSO orbits.
Launch statistics summary Launch outcomes
List of launches Serial number Flight number Date (UTC) Launch site Payload Orbit Outcome1Y19 December 202206:35Special converted barge (Tai Rui)East China Sea(37.3°N, 123.7°E) Jilin-1 Gaofen-03D-44-50Jilin-1 Pingtai-01A01HEAD 2HJinzijing Qilu-1 05, 06Tianqi 07Huoju 1CAS 5ASSO2Y25 December 202319:24Special converted barge (Bo Run Jiu Zhou)South China Sea(21.2°N, 112.1°E)Hulianwang Jishu Shiyan 3ALEO3Y33 February 202403:06Special converted barge (Bo Run Jiu Zhou)South China Sea(21.2°N, 112.1°E)Dongfang Huiyan-GF01DRO-LNEXSAT-1WeiHai-1-01/02XingShiDai-18/19/20Zhixing-2ASSO4Y424 September 202402:31Special converted barge (Dong Fang Hang Tian Gang)Yellow Sea(36.4°N, 121.1°E)Tianyi-41Luojia 4-01Fudan-1Tianyan-15Jitianxing A-01Xingshidai-15/21/22SSO5Y513 January 202503:00Special converted barge (Dong Fang Hang Tian Gang)Offshore waters of Rizhao, Yellow SeaCentiSpace-1 × 10LEO6Y68 August 202516:31Special converted barge (Dong Fang Hang Tian Gang)Offshore waters of Rizhao, Yellow SeaGeeSat × 11LEO7Y78 September 202519:48Special converted barge (Dong Fang Hang Tian Gang)Offshore waters of Rizhao, Yellow SeaGeeSat × 11LEO8Y824 September 202507:56Special converted barge (Dong Fang Hang Tian Gang)Offshore waters of Rizhao, Yellow SeaGeeSat × 12LEO9Y912 February 202606:37Special converted barge (Dong Fang Hang Tian Gang)Offshore waters of Haiyang PortPRSC-EO2 & 6 satellitesSSO10Y1022 March 202615:49Special converted barge (Dong Fang Hang Tian Gang)Offshore waters of Haiyang PortCentiSpace-1 × 10LEO11Y1111 April 202611:32Special converted barge (Dong Fang Hang Tian Gang)Offshore waters of Haiyang PortSatNet test satelliteLEO12Y125 August 202602:38Special converted barge (Dong Fang Hang Tian Gang)Offshore waters of Haiyang PortOSE HS-01 & 02SSO
References