Private Chinese rocket fails during launch, 3 satellites lost

a black rocket launches into a bluish sky

Liftoff of Galactic Energy's second Ceres-1 solid rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert on Dec. 7, 2021. The 22nd launch of the rocket, on Nov. 9, 2025, ended in failure. (Image credit: Galactic Energy)

A private Chinese rocket just suffered its second-ever failure.

Galactic Energy's solid-fuel Ceres-1 according to media reports, but its fourth and final stage shut down too early, leading to the loss of all three payloads.

according to the Global Times, an affiliate of the People's Daily, the leading paper of the Chinese Communist Party.

"We will draw lessons from the mission setback and continue to optimize rocket design and quality-management systems," the statement added.

The Ceres-1 stands about 62 feet (19 meters) tall and can haul 880 pounds (400 kilograms) of payload to LEO. The rocket debuted in November 2020 and flew successfully nine times in a row before suffering a failure in September 2023.

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