FILE: China - Date Unknown (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
1. Various of rocket being assembled, moved in workshop
2. Various of rocket being transported by vehicle

FILE: Haiyang City, Shandong Province, east China - Date Unknown (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
3. Various of rocket in workshop

Haiyang City, Shandong Province, east China - Recent (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
4. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Hui Xingchen, deputy chief commander, Smart Dragon-3 (SD-3) carrier rocket, China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (starting with shot 3):
"Through the previous two launch missions, our rocket has shown a certain level of product reliability. Our carrying capacity and relevant interfaces are suitable for the launch of the Egyptian satellite."
5. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Jin Xin, chief commander, Smart Dragon-3 (SD-3) carrier rocket, China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (ending with shots 7-8):
"We continuously enhance the reliability, cost-efficiency and safety of the rocket to prepare for subsequent mass production, minimizing our contractual lead time to the shortest possible duration."

FILE: Haiyang City, Shandong Province, east China - Date Unknown (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
6. Technicians working
7. Various of rockets parts in workshop
8. Various of devices, technicians
9. Various of rocket parts being lifted by crane

Guangdong Province, south China - Recent (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
10. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Rong Feng, head, Oriental Aerospace Port (starting with shot 9/ending with shots 11-15):
"Next, we will accelerate the construction of the Oriental Aerospace Port Satellite Data Industry Park, achieving deep integration of flexible manufacturing with data algorithm capabilities. We will expedite the establishment of an industrial ecosystem covering the entire satellite industry chain."

FILE: Haiyang City, Shandong Province, east China - Date Unknown (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
11. Aerial shot of buildings, facilities at port
12. Rocket being propped up

FILE: China - Date Unknown (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
13. Aerial shot of floating launch platform, vessel

FILE: Haiyang City, Shandong Province, east China - Date Unknown (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
14. Aerial shot of buildings at Oriental Aerospace Port
15. Scale model, poster of Oriental Aerospace Port
16. Equipment, technicians in workshop
17. Aerial shot of buildings at Oriental Aerospace Port
18. Rocket being propped up

China - Feb 3, 2024 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
19. Various of rocket blasting off, flying

China's Smart Dragon-3 (SD-3) carrier rocket, for the first time ever, successfully sent a foreign satellite into space on Saturday, marking a significant step towards the rocket's internationalization in space launches.

The rocket blasted off at 11:06 Beijing time (0306 GMT) from waters off the coast of Yangjiang, a city in south China's Guangdong Province. After a short flight, the launch vehicle deployed the nine satellites, including an Egyptian NExSat-1 satellite, that it was carrying into their preset orbital positions, China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, maker of the Smart Dragon-3 series, announced shortly after the liftoff.

The Smart Dragon-3 is a four-stage solid-propellant carrier rocket capable of both maritime and land-based launches. It can transport spacecraft weighing up to 1.5 tons into a 500-kilometer Sun-synchronous orbit.

The Egyptian NExSat-1 satellite launched this time was the first foreign satellite delivered into space using the Smart Dragon-3 rocket. In order to secure this mission, the rocket team put in a lot of effort.

"Through the previous two launch missions, our rocket has shown a certain level of product reliability. Our carrying capacity and relevant interfaces are suitable for the launch of the Egyptian satellite," said Hui Xingchen, deputy chief commander of the SD-3 carrier rocket with the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, at the Oriental Aerospace Port that oversaw the launch of the SD-3 rocket series.

"We continuously enhance the reliability, cost-efficiency and safety of the rocket to prepare for subsequent mass production, minimizing our contractual lead time to the shortest possible duration," said Jin Xin, chief commander of the SD-3 carrier rocket.

Saturday's launch marked China's 10th sea-based launch of a carrier rocket. As of now, China has successfully launched 57 satellites into space through sea-based launches, amid stepped-up normalization of maritime launch operations at the Oriental Aerospace Port. The port, located in Haiyang City of Shandong Province, is operated by the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center.

Focusing on maritime rocket launches, Haiyang is home to 21 industrial projects covering satellite and rocket manufacturing, satellite applications, and high-end supporting facilities, among others.

"Next, we will accelerate the construction of the Oriental Aerospace Port Satellite Data Industry Park, achieving deep integration of flexible manufacturing with data algorithm capabilities. We will expedite the establishment of an industrial ecosystem covering the entire satellite industry chain," said Rong Feng, head of the Oriental Aerospace Port.