HELSINKI — A Chinese commercial rocket company has successfully launched and safely landed a test article on its path to developing a reusable launch vehicle.
Beijing Interstellar Glory Space Technology Ltd., also known as iSpace, launched the Hyperbola-2Y single-stage hopper at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center Nov. 2.
The Hyperbola-2 methane-liquid oxygen reusable verification stage rose to a height of 178 meters during its 51-second flight. It performed a powered descent and soft landing, supported by four landing legs. The 3.35-meter-diameter, 17m-long test stage is powered by a variable thrust Focus-1 engine.
The vertical takeoff, vertical landing test marks progress towards a reusable medium-lift rocket to debut in 2025. It is also the latest marker in Chinese efforts to emulate the success of SpaceX and its Falcon 9 rocket.
The flight verified iSpace’s variable thrust methalox propulsion, vertical landing guidance, navigation, guidance and control, and will be used to test recovery and reuse processes. The footage did not indicate a restarting of the Focus-1 engine, but the company has previously conducted ground restart hot fire tests.
The successful hop test “marks a major breakthrough in China’s commercial aerospace industry in reusable launch vehicle technology. It also signals the charge for China’s aerospace sector to catch up with the world’s most advanced levels in reusable launch vehicle technology” an iSpace statement read.
The test is part of the company’s plan to develop the Hyperbola-3 rocket with a reusable first stage. iSpace is skipping the previously-planned smaller Hyperbola-2, the company stated at the 9th China (International) Commercial Aerospace Forum in July this year.
The company is targeting a first flight of the 13.4-metric-ton to low Earth orbit (LEO) Hyperbola-3 rocket in 2025. A demonstration of reuse will follow in 2026. The 69-meter-long rocket will be able to lift 8.5…
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