Chinese startup achieves rocket re-landing feat demonstrated first by SpaceX 11 years ago

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A Beijing-based start-up has accomplished a “hop test” that entails touchdown a stainless-steel rocket vertically after taking pictures it up a number of hundred metres – a feat completed about 11 years ago by SpaceX’s bigger Super Heavy Starship.

The Zhuque-3 rocket developed by the Chinese agency LandSpace took off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre within the Gobi Desert at 4pm on Friday, reaching an altitude of 350m (1,148 ft) in about 60 seconds earlier than touchdown vertically 100m away, the corporate introduced.

“The rocket landed smoothly and accurately and remained in good condition. The flight was a complete success,” LandSpace, which put the world’s first methane rocket into orbit final yr, mentioned in a press release.

The over 70m-long, two-stage chrome steel rocket is anticipated to have a payload capability of over 20 metric tons to low Earth orbit (LEO) when expendable.

It will carry about 18 tons when the first stage is recovered or 12,500kg when returning to the launch web site, the corporate beforehand mentioned.

A rising variety of area launch startups, together with over half a dozen companies, are attempting to duplicate SpaceX’s vertical takeoff, vertical touchdown (VTVL) achievements.

Hop assessments have been performed beforehand by Beijing-based launch startup iSpace final yr, and the Jiangsu-based Deep Blue Aerospace.

The Chinese state-owned CAS Space additionally performed VTVL assessments with a small demonstrator in April final yr, SpaceInformation reported.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX has pioneered VTVL, demonstrating first in 2013 that its 10-story tall Grasshopper rocket may full a profitable takeoff, hover, and land vertically.

Till SpaceX proved the effectivity of the expertise, area launch companies and businesses had no choices however to routinely discard the large gasoline chambers of their rockets to allow them to dissipate within the Earth’s ambiance.

Now, VTVL automobiles are anticipated to chop prices for launches to area by making rocket components reusable.

Currently, SpaceX has overwhelmed its personal report reusing its Falcon 9 rockets for launches efficiently.

In phrases of payload capability, the LandSpace Zhuque-3 is anticipated to be of comparable dimension to Falcon 9, however a bit wider.

“It is currently the largest vertical take-off and landing test in China,” it added.