Reusable rocket successful Test

  China’s LandSpace tests prototype of Zhuque-3 reusable stainless steel rocket for the 1st time

 A small silver rocket rises into a blue sky above a desert landscape, trailing a pillar of flame. 

The Chinese company Landspace just notched a big milestone in its quest to develop a reusable rocket. The Beijing-based startup launched and landed a test version of its Zhuque-3 rocket at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Inner Mongolia on 19 Jan, 2024. Test rocket blasts off in Gobi Desert, reaching altitude of 350 metres in latest step towards launch of Zhuque-3, targeted for 2025 maiden flight. Beijing-based start-up is first to put rocket powered by methane – a more efficient, environmentally friendly fuel – into orbit. LandSpace, the Beijing-based start-up that put the world’s first methane rocket into orbit last year, has completed a “hop test” – in which a rocket shoots up, moves sideways and lands – in the latest step towards the launch of its Zhuque-3 reusable stainless steel rocket.

The test rocket lifted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in the Gobi Desert of northern China at 4pm on Friday, reaching an altitude of 350 metres (1,148 feet) during the 60-second vertical take-off, vertical landing (VTVL), according to the company. It touched down in a designated area some 100 metres from the launch pad, with a landing accuracy of 2.4 metres and landing speed of 0.75 metres per second, LandSpace said. “The rocket landed smoothly and accurately, and remained in good condition. The flight was a complete success,” the company announced. The vehicle soared about 1,150 feet (350 meters) into the sky during the roughly 60-second flight, then came back down for a pinpoint landing within 7.9 feet (2.4 meters) of its target, according to reports.

The Chinese company Landspace's Zhuque-3 VTVL-1 test vehicle reached a maximum altitude of about 1,150 feet (350 meters) and made a pinpoint touchdown, according to the company. Zhuque-3 is a two-stage, stainless-steel rocket whose first stage will be reusable, like that of SpaceX's workhorse Falcon 9. The Zhuque-3, which Landspace hopes to start flying in 2025, will stand about 250 feet (75 meters) tall and be capable of carrying up to 40,350 pounds (18,300 kilograms) to low Earth orbit (LEO) in reusable mode, according to SpaceNews. 

The test rocket is a prototype that incorporates the latest technology in landing gear, ground control systems and precision guidance for vertical recovery – all of which are crucial to the success of Zhuque-3’s maiden flight targeted to take place in 2025. “It helped us obtain core flight data on key technologies involved in the development of the Zhuque-3 reusable methane-liquid oxygen rocket,” the company said. The 18.3 metre-long, 3.4 metre-wide test rocket was not only the largest of its kind in China, but also the world’s first stainless steel VTVL rocket. It was powered by a Tianque-12B engine, which will be used on the two-stage, medium-lift Zhuque-3.

The Zhuque 2 Y-3 carrier rocket blasted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centrw in northwest China on Saturday morning. LandSpace and US rivals SpaceX and Relativity Space have all been racing to develop methane-powered rocket technology. As a rocket fuel, methane is more efficient, easier to produce and more environmentally friendly than traditional fuels such as refined kerosene. Zhuque-3 will be 76.6 metres long and 4.5 metres wide and will combine features of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 and Starship rockets. Powered by nine Tianque-12B engines, it is expected to be able to carry up to 18.3 tonnes (15 tons) of payload into low Earth orbit if its first stage is recovered down range. The company said Zhuque-3’s first stage was designed to be reused at least 20 times, which could support China’s demand for frequent launches to assemble satellite-based internet constellations and for the commercial launch of large communications satellites and other spacecraft.

Before LandSpace’s VTVL test on Friday, at least four other companies in China had conducted hop tests for reusable rockets. They include the Beijing-based iSpace and Galactic Energy, the Nantong-based Deep Blue Aerospace, and CAS Space headquartered in Guangzhou. In November and December, iSpace conducted two hop tests as part of the development of its reusable Hyperbola-3 rocket. iSpace is eyeing a first flight of its Hyperbola-3 next year. The rocket is expected to be able to deliver 8.5 tonnes of payload to low Earth orbit in reusable mode. In 2022, Deep Blue Aerospace carried out a 1km (0.6 miles) VTVL test for the development of its Nebula-1 reusable launcher. LandSpace said its next goal was to conduct a 10km flight test with the VTVL rocket, but did not give a time frame. The most famous hop tests in private space flight include SpaceX’s Grasshopper tests, carried out about a decade ago to aid the development of the Falcon 9 rocket.