China has tested the vertical takeoff and landing of the Zhuque-3 reusable methane rocket (video)
On Friday, Chinese private company LandSpace completed a series of tests of the reusable Zhuque-3 methane-powered rocket. This is the second privately developed reusable rocket in China that uses environmentally friendly fuel.
Earlier, iSpace conducted a series of lifts of the Hyperbola-2 rocket. Thus, while SpaceX is trying to successfully launch the giant Starship rocket, Chinese companies are starting to breathe down its neck.
The Zhuque-3 prototype rocket with a launch weight of 50.3 tons, a height of 18.3 m and a diameter of 3.35 m rose to an altitude of 320 m and stayed in the air for 60 seconds. The rocket gently rose and fell almost to the center of the target on the neighboring site. The accuracy of the landing is not reported, but in the case of the Hyperbola-2 prototype, for example, the deviation from the center of the target was only 29.5 cm.
According to LandSpace, Zhuque-3 rockets will begin commercial operation in 2025. Each rocket can be used at least 20 times, which will reduce the cost of launching by 80-90%. In the future, the company will conduct a series of tests of the prototype with ascents to higher altitudes to hone the rocket’s control technologies.
One wonders how they manage without the “fireworks” that regularly occurred at the launch pad of Elon Musk’s space company during prototype testing. However, the Chinese do not tend to talk about failures. Therefore, the facts of accidents can be hidden, which does not detract from their success.
