Lijian-2 (Kinetica-2)

Lijian-2 (Y1) [CAS]

Lijian-2 or Kinetica-2 is a Chinese liquid-fueled medium launch vehicle developed by CAS Space, a rocket manufacturer affiliated with the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

The rocket is intended as a medium-lift carrier to support large-scale satellite deployments and logistics missions in low Earth orbit. It is expected to play a role in supplying China’s modular space station, Tiangong space station, and to provide cost-effective access to orbit for both institutional and commercial payloads.

Kinetica-2 is the second launch vehicle developed by CAS Space, following its solid-fueled predecessor, Lijian-1 (Kinetica-1). Unlike its predecessor, Kinetica-2 employs liquid propulsion, enabling improved performance, scalability, and mission flexibility. The vehicle features a multi-stage core configuration supplemented by two side boosters, reflecting a design optimized for higher payload capacity. The rocket uses kerosene and liquid oxygen (kerolox) to powerthree YF-102 engines in each core and booster and a single YF-102V in the upper stage.

The rocket has an overall height of approximately 52 m and a core diameter of 3.35 m. At liftoff, it has a mass of about 625 t and generates a maximum thrust of 766 t. It is designed to deliver up to 8 metric tons to a 500 km sun-synchronous orbit and up to 12 metric tons to low Earth orbit.