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China’s LandSpace tests prototype of Zhuque-3 reusable stainless steel rocket
- Test rocket blasts off in Gobi Desert, reaching altitude of 350 metres in latest step towards launch of Zhuque-3, targeted for 2025 maiden flight
- Beijing-based start-up is first to put rocket powered by methane – a more efficient, environmentally friendly fuel – into orbit, beating rival SpaceX
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Ling Xinin Ohio
LandSpace, the Beijing-based start-up that put the world’s first methane rocket into orbit last year, has completed a “hop test” – in which a rocket shoots up, moves sideways and lands – in the latest step towards the launch of its Zhuque-3 reusable stainless steel rocket.
The test rocket lifted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in the Gobi Desert of northern China at 4pm on Friday, reaching an altitude of 350 metres (1,148 feet) during the 60-second vertical take-off, vertical landing (VTVL), according to the company.
It touched down in a designated area some 100 metres from the launch pad, with a landing accuracy of 2.4 metres and landing speed of 0.75 metres per second, LandSpace said on its official WeChat account.
“The rocket landed smoothly and accurately, and remained in good condition. The flight was a complete success,” the company announced.
The test rocket is a prototype that incorporates the latest technology in landing gear, ground control systems and precision guidance for vertical recovery – all of which are crucial to the success of Zhuque-3’s maiden flight targeted to take place in 2025.
“It helped us obtain core flight data on key technologies involved in the development of the Zhuque-3 reusable methane-liquid oxygen rocket,” the company said.
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