China's reusable rockets are hopping
by Zlatan Bisercic - December 11, 2023
i-Space's Hyperbola-2Y rocket during its 2nd test
Source: i-Space
China’s private cluster of companies, working on reusable rockets, is gearing up for faster developments. ISpace’s Hyperbola-2Y methane-liquid oxigen reusable stage lifted off from pad
at Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi desert on December 10. The launch was a test hop, similar to early stages of Starship development. The test was declared as a success. The
Hyperbola-2Y reached an altitude of 343.12 meters, translating 50 meters to a landing zone and touching down with a velocity of 1.1 meters per second and an accuracy of 0.295 meters. The
entire flight lasted for 63.15 seconds. The flight came just over a month after a first hop test on November 2. The company is targeting a first flight of the 13.4 metric-ton to low Earth
orbit (LEO) Hyperbola-3 rocket in 2025.
Other companies are not far behind. Beijing-based competitor is also gearing up for its first hop test. Landspace aims to fly stainless steel rocket for the first time in 2025 as well. Galacting
Energy, on the other hand, performed a hop test in August. A first expandable flight is planned for 2024. CAS Space, a spin-off from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, has likewise conducted such
tests. Another firm, Jiangsu-based Deep Blue Aerospace, is meanwhile planning the first flight of its Nebula-1 kerolox rocket in 2024. Space Pioneer, the first Chinese commercial startup to reach
orbit with a liquid propellant rocket, is planning to launch its Tianlong-3 rocket in June 2024. The rocket will be comparable to Falcon 9 in launch capability and eventually have a reusable first
stage. China’s state-owned main space contractor CASC is also aiming for reusable rockets.
With all the recent developments in China’s space industry, we can freely say that there will be a lot of Starships hopping around, which was unimaginable just couple of decades ago!
As per usual, we had couple of launches last week. Two from SpaceX and one from China. SpaceX launched Falcon 9 on December 6, and December 8 (100th flight in 365 days!), both carrying Starlink satellites for Starling constellation. On the other side of the world, China launched, on December 6, a new internet technology experiment satellite from a sea platform, using the Jielong-3 solid rocket.
Keep looking up and see you next time!
Sources: SpaceNews, Universe Today, Spaceflight Now, Space.com, Space Daily, Wikipedia