Chinese Rocket Landed Vertically at Sea, Developing the Country’s Sovereign Reusable Rocket Capability

China has carried out a successful vertical landing test at sea, which is expected to lay the foundation for future applications in space travel.

A Breakthrough in the Chinese Rocket Industry

The 2.1-meter-long rocket prototype was launched on March 30 at Haiyang in Shandong Province by CAS Space, a commercial spaceflight company partly owned by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). The twin turbojet rocket flew for ten minutes at approximately 1,000 meters before touching down at a landing pad at sea.

CAS Space verified the stages in the flight trial, such as rocket stage recovery, communication and spacecraft tracking, and sea clutter impact clutter. It was reported that the controllers reduced the speed of the rockets to two meters per second in the last stage, while the landing precision was set under ten meters.

The two engines of the 93-kilogram rocket each carried 550 newtons of force, while the turbojet engines were used in simulating a variable thrust liquid rocket engine during landing. According to senior CAS engineer Lian Jie, this type of rocket recovery technology at sea can be widely applied to rocket models in the future. It can contribute to the country's large-scale exploration with lesser costs.

The reusable rocket technology in China falls behind its international rival companies such as SpaceX, which has been landing and reusing space rockets since 2016. In building the reusable CAS rocket, the agency used software and hardware technology developed by China.

China is exploring technology thresholds such as precision positioning, variable thrust management, and technology stabilization. Lian believes it is a critical step in developing the country's sovereign reusable rocket capability. It is also expected to save significant amounts of money for China's space industry while providing commercial opportunities to operators.

Lian also added that the prototype CAS rocket could conduct its first flight into near-Earth orbit as soon as the end of the year. It aims to compete with companies such as SpaceX regarding reliability and price.

What is a Reusable Rocket?

A reusable rocket refers to a launch vehicle composed of parts that can be recovered while carrying payloads from the surface of the Earth to outer space. The rocket stages are the most common parts of the launch vehicles aimed for reuse.

A reusable rocket is much cheaper to relaunch than a newly built one. It can be 65% cheaper with a 30x lower cost return. Aside from this, reusable rockets also use less fuel than their expandable versions, making them better for the environment. As the launch cost of rockets is reduced, it opens up the spaceflight market to a broader range of companies.

Meanwhile, the reusable rocket system also has its downsides. One of the main disadvantages of reusable rockets is reduced payload. Each reusable rocket needs to be built to survive the challenges of launch and re-entry, which means that more stabilization fins and extra equipment are required. Aside from it, reusable rockets also need to be refurbished and tested before each new launch, taking time and resources to ensure that the launchers meet the appropriate standard.