China Names New Rocket Kaituozhe

China has named their new all-solid SLV-1 small launch vehicle Kaituozhe 1 (Explorer 1). The vehicle is under development by Space Solid Fuel Rocket Carrier Co. Ltd. (SSRC) and is due to first fly in 2002. The Kaituozhe 1 is believed to be a civilian derivative of China's new DF-31 ICBM with a payload capability of 100 kg to low Earth orbit (some reports say 300 kg).

Members of the SSRC consortium are China Machinery and Electronics Engineering Integrated Design Department, China Space Machinery and Electronics (Group) Co., the Space Solid Fuel Rocket Propulsion Technology Research Institute, the Controls and Electronics Technology Research Institute and the Chenguang (Group) Co. Ltd.

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