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China’s first reusable rocket simply took a giant step towards flight.
The Chinese language firm LandSpace performed a static-fire check with its chrome steel Zhuque-3 launcher on Monday (Oct. 20), holding the rocket on observe for a debut anticipated to happen earlier than the top of the 12 months.
The static fireplace — a typical prelaunch trial through which a rocket fires its engines whereas remaining anchored to the pad — capped the three-day “first part” of Zhuque-3’s maiden flight marketing campaign, in keeping with LandSpace.
That part additionally included a fueling check, which, just like the static fireplace, befell within the Dongfeng Business House Innovation Pilot Zone in northwestern China.
“The car will subsequent proceed with deliberate vertical integration rehearsal, earlier than returning to the technical zone for inspection and upkeep in preparation for its upcoming orbital launch and first-stage restoration,” LandSpace mentioned by way of X on Monday.
Zhuque-3 seems to be quite a bit like SpaceX’s workhorse Falcon 9 rocket, which additionally contains a reusable first stage and an expendable higher stage. Just like the Falcon 9, Zhuque-3’s booster is powered by 9 engines — on this case, Tianque-12As, which LandSpace developed in home.
The Tianque-12A employs liquid methane and liquid oxygen (LOX) propellants — a key distinction with the Falcon 9, whose Merlin engines burn LOX and rocket-grade kerosene. (SpaceX‘s next-gen Raptor engine, which powers its Starship megarocket, makes use of LOX and liquid methane.)
The 217-foot-tall (66 meters) Zhuque-3 can haul about 40,350 kilos (18,300 kilograms) to low Earth orbit (LEO). That is in roughly the identical ballpark because the Falcon 9, whose LEO payload capability is 50,265 kilos (22,800 kg).
Monday’s static fireplace was the most recent in a sequence of great milestones for the Zhuque-3. For instance, LandSpace carried out low-altitude launch and touchdown exams with the car final 12 months, and it performed a static fireplace this previous June.
Beijing-based LandSpace, which was based in 2015, additionally flies the expendable Zhuque-2. In July 2023, that rocket turned the primary LOX-methane car to achieve Earth orbit. That debut kicked off a string of 4 consecutive successes for Zhuque-2, however the rocket failed on its most up-to-date liftoff this previous August.
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