Kuaizhou

Chinese solid-fuel quick-reaction small-lift orbital rocket

Kuaizhou — "speedy vessel" — was built to replace satellites destroyed in a conflict within days, not months. The solid-fuel rocket grew out of China's anti-satellite missile programme and is operated by ExPace, a commercial arm of the state defence conglomerate CASIC. The Kuaizhou-1A variant has flown over 28 times; the larger Kuaizhou-11 returned to service in 2022 after an initial failure.