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Ling Xin

China has successfully tested the third-stage engine of its Long March-10 moon rocket, moving one step closer towards putting Chinese astronauts on the lunar surface before 2030.
The YF-75E engine, which burns liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen, was fired on Saturday at a newly completed test rig, according to its developer the state-owned Academy of Aerospace Liquid Propulsion Technology (AALPT).
“The test verified the feasibility of the engine’s long-term operation in space, and was a full success,” the academy – a subsidiary of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation – said on its WeChat account on Tuesday.
“It means China can now test liquid hydrogen-liquid oxygen engines for thousands of seconds … This will strongly support the implementation of the nation’s manned lunar exploration.”
The test rig was billed as the first of its kind in China and the largest in Asia when it was commissioned in May. Neither the academy nor a report by state broadcaster CCTV at the time mentioned where the facility is located.
According to the CCTV report in May, the test rig can simulate high-altitude vertical-flight conditions, including a vacuum environment with pressure under one kilopascal, over thousands of seconds at a time.
China has been making steady progress towards its goal to put astronauts on the moon, with initial testing on the Long March-10’s propulsion system completed last month.
The three-stage superheavy Long March-10 – comparable to Texas-based SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy – is 92.5 metres (303ft) long, with three times the capacity of China’s most powerful rocket to date, the Long March-5.
The Long March-10 will be able to lift 70 tonnes into low-Earth orbit and 27 tonnes into trans-lunar injection trajectories, according to its developers.
Its first stage is powered by seven YF-100K engines, which burn a combination of kerosene and liquid oxygen. With two boosters, each with their own set of seven YF-100K engines, the rocket will generate a massive 2,678 tonnes of thrust at lift-off.


The rocket’s second stage consists of two YF-100M engines, which also burn kerosene and liquid oxygen, while the third and final stage will be powered by three YF-75E engines.
The Long March-10 rocket will be used in two launches for China’s mission to land astronauts on the moon. One will carry the Mengzhou spacecraft and its crew, while the other will launch the Lanyue landing craft.
The spacecraft will rendezvous and dock before the two astronauts transfer to the moon lander and head for the lunar surface, where they will drive a rover to carry out scientific investigations and collect rock samples.
Mission completed, the crew will return to the Lanyue and leave the moon’s surface to dock with the orbiting Mengzhou for the journey home.
Chinese space officials said in April that they were on track to meet the 2030 deadline, with manufacturing under way of prototype components for the mission, including the lunar landing suits for the astronauts, as well as the space vehicles.


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China

The YF-75E will power the final section of the Long March-10 lunar launcher and was tested on a newly completed rig at an unknown location


The YF-75E will power the final section of the Long March-10 lunar launcher and was tested on a newly completed rig at an unknown location.


China's space programme

Space

Technology

China technology