LandSpace’s Zhuque-3 reusable rocket test a ‘breakthrough’ for China space race

Name: China beats SpaceX with world’s first methane-powered rocket launch
Uploaded: 2024-09-12T04:32:18.000Z
Duration: 1 min 27 s
Description: China beats SpaceX with world’s first methane-powered rocket launch

200-second flight to 10km altitude tests key technologies including ‘crucial’ in-flight engine reignition during deceleration phase

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LandSpace’s Zhuque-3 reusable rocket’s engine reignition technology was tested as part of the test flight on Wednesday in northern China. Photo: Xinhua

Ling Xinin Ohio

Published: 12:32pm, 12 Sep 2024Updated: 4:21pm, 25 Sep 2024

Beijing-based company LandSpace set the stage for next year’s maiden flight of its reusable Zhuque-3 rocket with a 10km (6-mile) vertical take-off, vertical landing (VTVL) test in China’s Gobi Desert on Wednesday.

The 200-second test flight was also the first time engine reignition – a critical deceleration phase in rocket recovery – was tested in China, in what state broadcaster CCTV called a “breakthrough” for the country’s commercial space sector.

Dai Zheng, commander of the Zhuque-3 project, said the test validated in-flight engine cut-off and restart, as well as other key technologies including joint guidance and control, as well as precise landing.

The test marked a “crucial step” towards low-cost, high-frequency space launches, said Dai in the CCTV report. “We have verified these core technologies in advance, laying a solid foundation for the flight and recovery of the rocket.”

An engineer from the Zhuque-3 team, speaking anonymously to the South China Morning Post, said that Wednesday’s test – which was postponed three times before going ahead – exceeded expectations.

However, the technologies still lag significantly behind industry leaders like the Texas-based rocket company SpaceX, he said. “China may have its own Falcon 9 rocket in five years and Starship in 20 years. We need to work hard to catch up.”

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China beats SpaceX with world’s first methane-powered rocket launch