Rizhao used a land-based command center to direct an offshore rocket launch on October 21, 2026. A Ceres-1 sea-launch vehicle, designated Y8, lifted off from waters near the Shandong city at 11:39 a.m. Beijing time and placed the Xiguang-4 01 remote-sensing satellite into its planned orbit.
Beijing Daily reported that the mission marked Rizhao’s first use of the shore-command arrangement. Personnel in the land control hall handled system-status checks, the countdown, ignition commands, flight tracking, and data analysis. The rocket still departed from an offshore platform.
The change relocates the people and equipment responsible for supervising the mission. Before launch, controllers need information about the readiness of the rocket and supporting systems. During ascent, incoming measurements allow them to follow flight progress. Communications connect those functions to the vehicle without requiring the command team to occupy a ship.
The new facility had been described before the mission in New Space Economy’s coverage of Rizhao’s command center. Its planned responsibilities included receiving real-time platform and rocket information, coordinating the countdown, and monitoring ascent. The October 21 mission put that arrangement into operational use.
Dazhong News identified the launch vessel as Dongfang Hangtiangang and reported that the rocket was assembled at Haiyang Oriental Spaceport. Its account quoted communications supervisor Han Lizhi explaining that shore facilities offer more equipment space, additional communications options, and relief from ship motion and seasickness. He also anticipated lower operating costs, without publishing a numerical cost comparison.
Moving personnel ashore does not remove the launch vehicle’s exposure to marine conditions. Galactic Energy’s account of its first Ceres-1 sea launch describes navigation alignment and correction methods for a moving base. The manufacturer also explains the restraint mechanism used to keep the vehicle secure before ignition and release it for liftoff.
That earlier mission, in September 2023, placed four Tianqi satellites into an 800-kilometer orbit. Galactic Energy identified the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center’s sea-launch team as the organization that commanded it. The new shore facility changes the location of command functions within an already operating launch system.
The satellite delivered on October 21 also has a development role. Beijing Daily identifies Xiguang-4 01 as a precursor to the planned Wuyang remote-sensing constellation. Its tasks include testing imaging payloads, orbital operations, communications with the ground, and data processing before later satellites are deployed.
The completed mission establishes Rizhao’s land center as part of the launch-support infrastructure. The physical launch point remains at sea, connected to controllers ashore through the systems that carry commands and return flight data.
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