CERES-2
Accident Description
At 12: 8 on January 17, 2026, Beijing time, Ceres-2 private commercial launch vehicle was ignited and lifted off at Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. The rocket flight was abnormal, and the first flight test mission failed
Timeline
- Jan 17, 2026
Galactic Energy apologized and said it would make every effort to find out why
- Jun 15, 2026
Galaxy Space Aerospace announced that the Ceres-2 (Yaoyi) launch vehicle has successfully completed its flight failure investigation review.
Final Report
The review conclusion explicitly stated that the issue originated from the rear support structure of the first-stage engine's segmented throat insert.
Simply put, the throat insert is a critical component within the rocket engine nozzle, designed to withstand the erosion of high-temperature gas. Due to an insufficient design margin in the support structure, the rear section of the throat insert shifted during operation, creating a gas pathway between it and the forward section. This allowed high-temperature gas to intrude into the back wall of the throat insert, leading to severe thermal erosion (burn-through), which ultimately caused structural failure of the nozzle and a complete loss of rocket thrust.
Next Steps: Galactic Energy stated that the company will conduct a series of engine reliability growth tests to ensure the success of the upcoming return-to-flight mission. Concurrently, the company has implemented comprehensive quality enhancement measures covering the entire lifecycle, including design, manufacturing, testing, and launch.
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