Manufacturer CALT Cost per launch $10 million Diameter 3.35 m (11.0 ft) | Country of origin China Height 22.9 m (75 ft) | |
Function Small-lift carrier rocket | ||
Naga-L, also called Naga-1, is a light carrier rocket under development by the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT). It is designed to compete on the international market for small-lift launch vehicles.
The project was unveiled on 14 October 2015 by Dr. Haoliang Yang during the 66th International Astronautical Congress in Jerusalem. A first launch is planned for 2017. In addition to its domestic Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi desert, CALT is considering potential launches of Naga-L from spaceports in Sweden (Esrange), Indonesia (Pameungpeuk) and Tanzania.
Due to ITAR restrictions imposed by the United States, China can only launch domestically-produced satellites from its own territory, which prevents their Long March rockets from competing in the worldwide commercial launch services market. Naga-L would bypass these constraints by exporting the rockets instead of importing the satellites.
Using components from the Long March rocket family, notably the YF-75 and YF-100 engines, Naga-L could deliver up to 1,600 kg (3,500 lb) to a 400-kilometre (250-mile) circular low-Earth orbit from Lapan and 900 kg (2,000 lb) to a 400-km Sun-synchronous orbit from Esrange or Jiuquan. Pricing would start at $10 million per mission.