<p>It means <strong>quick-reaction launch</strong>.</p>
<p>How I came to this conclusion:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>The article you linked has some sort of quote from the rocket designer 彭昆雅, whose paragraph of explanation concludes with 大幅<strong>缩短了发射链条</strong>，提高发射效率和效益。So the purpose of the rocket is to &quot;enormously reduce the launch chain and improve the launch efficiency and effectiveness&quot;. To improve the deployment time.</p>
</li>
<li><p><a href="https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%95%BF%E5%BE%81%E5%8D%81%E4%B8%80%E5%8F%B7%E8%BF%90%E8%BD%BD%E7%81%AB%E7%AE%AD" rel="nofollow noreferrer">The Wikipedia page in Chinese about the Long March 11</a> states 长征十一号<strong>发射周期不超过72小时</strong>，最短发射时间在24小时以内</p>
</li>
<li><p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_March_11" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Switch to English</a>, and after the first few sentences, which seem to echo your own translation, you see &quot;It was designed with the ability to <strong>launch on short notice</strong> [...]&quot;.</p>
</li>
<li><p>Check the source that <a href="https://space.skyrocket.de/doc_lau/cz-11.htm" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Wikipedia has quoted</a>, and you read &quot;The CZ-11 is developed [...] with the goal to provide a <strong>quick-reaction launch vehicle</strong>, which is easy to operate, cost-efficient to launch, can remain in storage for long period and reliably launch on short notice&quot;. There is consistency.</p>
</li>
<li><p>Another Wikipedia source, <a href="https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2015/09/china-debuts-long-march-11-lofting-tianwang-1-trio/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">nasaspaceflight.com</a> says &quot;It’s goal goal is to provide an easy to operate <strong>quick-reaction launch</strong> vehicle&quot;.</p>
</li>
<li><p>Finally Google for &quot;quick-reaction launch&quot; (quoted) and you'll find some additional references from non-Chinese websites about rocket capabilities.</p>
</li>
</ol>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-09-18T08:36:08.730Z
Base on your research, I suppose  小时级发射 =  小 (less) + 时 (time) + (steps) + 发射 (launch) --> a rocket that can be launched in shorter time and with fewer steps than the conventional ones
Tang Ho
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-09-18T08:39:18.447Z
@TangHo yeah exactly, I think that's what "quick-reaction" refers to
blackgreen
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-09-18T08:29:05.203Z
2020-09-18T08:29:05.203Z
blackgreen
<p>小时 hour</p>
<p>级：级别 level</p>
<p>发射: launch</p>
<p>小时级发射: hour-level launch process. Or in a plainer language: the launch process can be done within hours.</p>
<p>It can also be expressed as 发射时长<strong>以小时为计量单位</strong> or 发射时长<strong>论小时数</strong> “the launch process duration is <strong>measured by hours</strong>”</p>
<p>Similarly, it can be 分钟级, 天级, or 月级.</p>
<p>Other examples of 级, which indicates the measuring unit：</p>
<pre><code>万吨级远洋船
纳米级银颗粒
</code></pre>
<hr />
<p>(which part of the launch process takes the majority of time is discussed by other answers, but I don't think that is important in the language perspective.)</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-09-22T15:29:47.020Z
2020-09-22T15:29:47.020Z
River
<p>All the times I've said, &quot;It's not rocket science.&quot; Now it really is!</p>
<p>Not being a rocket scientist, I presume 固体 refers to solid fuel as opposed to liquid fuel, but maybe it means 'reliable'?</p>
<p>长征十一号火箭是一枚四级固体运载火箭，<br />
The Long March Number 11 rocket is a category 4 solid (fuel?) carrier rocket,</p>
<p>全长约20.8米，<br />
approximately 20.80 metres long,</p>
<p>最大箭体直径2米，<br />
its greatest diameter is 2 metres,</p>
<p>总质量约58吨，<br />
weight about 58 tons,</p>
<p>主要用于发射近地轨道和太阳同步轨道有效载荷，<br />
its main use is to launch low earth orbit and geostationary loads,</p>
<p>该型火箭具有“一箭多星”发射能力、<strong>小时级发射</strong>等多项优点，<br />
this model of rocket has many advantages such as &quot;multiple launch capacity,&quot; and <strong>rapid launch readiness</strong>,</p>
<p>被誉为我国长征系列运载火箭家族中的“快响利箭”。<br />
it is praised as the &quot;quick sounding sharp arrow&quot; of China's Long March series carrier rockets.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-09-18T23:53:24.487Z
2020-09-18T23:53:24.487Z
Pedroski
<blockquote>
<p><strong>“快响利箭”海上飞天</strong></p>
<p>长征十一号火箭是一枚四级固体运载火箭，全长约20.8米，最大箭体直径2米，总质量约58吨，主要用于发射近地轨道和太阳同步轨道有效载荷，该型火箭具有“一箭多星”发射能力、<strong>小时级发射</strong>等多项优点，被誉为我国长征系列运载火箭家族中的“快响利箭”。<br />
<sub><a href="http://baijiahao.baidu.com/s?id=1677862386344754467" rel="nofollow noreferrer">海上飞天！一箭九星！我国首次海上商业化应用发射成功！</a>，2020年09月15日</sub></p>
</blockquote>
<p>In the above I'm unsure what 小时级发射 refers to.  Some automatic translations are &quot;Hourly launch&quot; (<a href="https://translate.google.cn/#view=home&amp;op=translate&amp;sl=zh-CN&amp;tl=en&amp;text=%E5%B0%8F%E6%97%B6%E7%BA%A7%E5%8F%91%E5%B0%84" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Google Translate</a> and <a href="https://fanyi.baidu.com/#zh/en/%E5%B0%8F%E6%97%B6%E7%BA%A7%E5%8F%91%E5%B0%84" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Baidu</a>) and &quot;Hour-stage launch&quot; (<a href="http://youdao.com/w/%E5%B0%8F%E6%97%B6%E7%BA%A7%E5%8F%91%E5%B0%84/#keyfrom=dict2.top" rel="nofollow noreferrer">YouDao</a>).  It seems &quot;hourly launch&quot; could not be correct---the rocket doesn't launch every hour.  My best guess is that it indicates that the rocket only takes hours to get its payload into orbit, but I'm unclear on this.</p>
<p><strong>Question</strong>: What does 小时级发射 refer to in 该型火箭具有“一箭多星”发射能力、小时级发射等多项优点?</p>
<p>The whole passage means something like:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>[<em>My translation</em>:] The Long March 11 rocket is a 4-stage solid carrier rocket, total length 20.8 meters, maximum diameter 2 meters, total mass around 58 tonnes, primary use is to launch payloads into near earth orbit and <a href="https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E5%A4%AA%E9%98%B3%E5%90%8C%E6%AD%A5%E8%BD%A8%E9%81%93" rel="nofollow noreferrer">sun-synchronous orbit</a>; this model rocket has &quot;one rocket multiple satellite&quot; launch capability, <strong>hour-grade launch</strong> etc. multi-faceted merits, and is acclaimed as the Long March rocket family's &quot;quick arrow&quot;.</p>
</blockquote>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-09-18T07:14:20.473Z
From a quick search I found that 级 can also carries the meaning of "step" (such as the steps of a staircase), if you follow that line of thought then the sentence could mean that the *steps* for launching the rocket are measured in a matter of hours, in other words the process is just really fast. Admittedly that's a bit of a reach and I'm just as interested in the real answer as you are
小奥利奥
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-09-18T13:27:48.457Z
小奥利奥isj100% correct.  To launch a rocket, the headache is launching itself, but the time it takes to prepare to launch.  In this sense, liquidized fuel takes much longer than solid fuel.  It's critical in the sense of counter strike: by the time you get you rockets ready to fire, enemies' nuclear warheads already destroy all your facilities to launch.
James Liu 刘老师
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-09-18T13:28:22.147Z
sorry, not launching itself.
James Liu 刘老师
<translation><meaning><terminology>
What does 小时级发射 refer to in 该型火箭具有“一箭多星”发射能力、小时级发射等多项优点?
# What does 小时级发射 refer to in 该型火箭具有“一箭多星”发射能力、小时级发射等多项优点?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2020-09-18)

> **“快响利箭”海上飞天**
>
> 长征十一号火箭是一枚四级固体运载火箭，全长约20.8米，最大箭体直径2米，总质量约58吨，主要用于发射近地轨道和太阳同步轨道有效载荷，该型火箭具有“一箭多星”发射能力、**小时级发射**等多项优点，被誉为我国长征系列运载火箭家族中的“快响利箭”。  
> [海上飞天！一箭九星！我国首次海上商业化应用发射成功！](http://baijiahao.baidu.com/s?id=1677862386344754467)，2020年09月15日

In the above I'm unsure what 小时级发射 refers to. Some automatic translations are "Hourly launch" ([Google Translate](https://translate.google.cn/#view=home&op=translate&sl=zh-CN&tl=en&text=%E5%B0%8F%E6%97%B6%E7%BA%A7%E5%8F%91%E5%B0%84) and [Baidu](https://fanyi.baidu.com/#zh/en/%E5%B0%8F%E6%97%B6%E7%BA%A7%E5%8F%91%E5%B0%84)) and "Hour-stage launch" ([YouDao](http://youdao.com/w/%E5%B0%8F%E6%97%B6%E7%BA%A7%E5%8F%91%E5%B0%84/#keyfrom=dict2.top)). It seems "hourly launch" could not be correct---the rocket doesn't launch every hour. My best guess is that it indicates that the rocket only takes hours to get its payload into orbit, but I'm unclear on this.

**Question**: What does 小时级发射 refer to in 该型火箭具有“一箭多星”发射能力、小时级发射等多项优点?

The whole passage means something like:

> [*My translation*:] The Long March 11 rocket is a 4-stage solid carrier rocket, total length 20.8 meters, maximum diameter 2 meters, total mass around 58 tonnes, primary use is to launch payloads into near earth orbit and [sun-synchronous orbit](https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E5%A4%AA%E9%98%B3%E5%90%8C%E6%AD%A5%E8%BD%A8%E9%81%93); this model rocket has "one rocket multiple satellite" launch capability, **hour-grade launch** etc. multi-faceted merits, and is acclaimed as the Long March rocket family's "quick arrow".

**Tags:** translation, meaning, terminology

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: From a quick search I found that 级 can also carries the meaning of "step" (such as the steps of a staircase), if you follow that line of thought then the sentence could mean that the *steps* for launching the rocket are measured in a matter of hours, in other words the process is just really fast. Admittedly that's a bit of a reach and I'm just as interested in the real answer as you are  
> **username_2**: 小奥利奥isj100% correct.  To launch a rocket, the headache is launching itself, but the time it takes to prepare to launch.  In this sense, liquidized fuel takes much longer than solid fuel.  It's critical in the sense of counter strike: by the time you get you rockets ready to fire, enemies' nuclear warheads already destroy all your facilities to launch.  
> **username_2**: sorry, not launching itself.  

---

## 3 answers

### Answer by username_3 on 2020-09-18. Score: 3 | Accepted answer

It means **quick-reaction launch**.

How I came to this conclusion:

1. The article you linked has some sort of quote from the rocket designer 彭昆雅, whose paragraph of explanation concludes with 大幅**缩短了发射链条**，提高发射效率和效益。So the purpose of the rocket is to "enormously reduce the launch chain and improve the launch efficiency and effectiveness". To improve the deployment time.
2. [The Wikipedia page in Chinese about the Long March 11](https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%95%BF%E5%BE%81%E5%8D%81%E4%B8%80%E5%8F%B7%E8%BF%90%E8%BD%BD%E7%81%AB%E7%AE%AD) states 长征十一号**发射周期不超过72小时**，最短发射时间在24小时以内
3. [Switch to English](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_March_11), and after the first few sentences, which seem to echo your own translation, you see "It was designed with the ability to **launch on short notice** [...]".
4. Check the source that [Wikipedia has quoted](https://space.skyrocket.de/doc_lau/cz-11.htm), and you read "The CZ-11 is developed [...] with the goal to provide a **quick-reaction launch vehicle**, which is easy to operate, cost-efficient to launch, can remain in storage for long period and reliably launch on short notice". There is consistency.
5. Another Wikipedia source, [nasaspaceflight.com](https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2015/09/china-debuts-long-march-11-lofting-tianwang-1-trio/) says "It’s goal goal is to provide an easy to operate **quick-reaction launch** vehicle".
6. Finally Google for "quick-reaction launch" (quoted) and you'll find some additional references from non-Chinese websites about rocket capabilities.

> **Comments:**
> **username_4**: Base on your research, I suppose  小时级发射 =  小 (less) + 时 (time) + (steps) + 发射 (launch) --> a rocket that can be launched in shorter time and with fewer steps than the conventional ones  
> **username_3**: @username_4 yeah exactly, I think that's what "quick-reaction" refers to  

---

### Answer by username_5 on 2020-09-22. Score: 2

小时 hour

级：级别 level

发射: launch

小时级发射: hour-level launch process. Or in a plainer language: the launch process can be done within hours.

It can also be expressed as 发射时长**以小时为计量单位** or 发射时长**论小时数** “the launch process duration is **measured by hours**”

Similarly, it can be 分钟级, 天级, or 月级.

Other examples of 级, which indicates the measuring unit：

```
万吨级远洋船
纳米级银颗粒

```

---

(which part of the launch process takes the majority of time is discussed by other answers, but I don't think that is important in the language perspective.)


---

### Answer by username_6 on 2020-09-18. Score: 1

All the times I've said, "It's not rocket science." Now it really is!

Not being a rocket scientist, I presume 固体 refers to solid fuel as opposed to liquid fuel, but maybe it means 'reliable'?

长征十一号火箭是一枚四级固体运载火箭，  
The Long March Number 11 rocket is a category 4 solid (fuel?) carrier rocket,

全长约20.8米，  
approximately 20.80 metres long,

最大箭体直径2米，  
its greatest diameter is 2 metres,

总质量约58吨，  
weight about 58 tons,

主要用于发射近地轨道和太阳同步轨道有效载荷，  
its main use is to launch low earth orbit and geostationary loads,

该型火箭具有“一箭多星”发射能力、**小时级发射**等多项优点，  
this model of rocket has many advantages such as "multiple launch capacity," and **rapid launch readiness**,

被誉为我国长征系列运载火箭家族中的“快响利箭”。  
it is praised as the "quick sounding sharp arrow" of China's Long March series carrier rockets.


---

