China’s state-owned space company beats private sector to reusable rocket test

Name: China is boldly going where no one has gone before
Uploaded: 2024-06-24T03:28:16.000Z
Duration: 26 min 5 s
Description: China is boldly going where no one has gone before

Rocket’s ‘milestone’ hop testing sends it more than 10km into the sky before a controlled descent and precision landing in the Gobi Desert

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The reusable rocket, developed by the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology, lifts off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in northwestern China’s Gobi Desert on Sunday. Photo: SAST

Ling Xinin Ohio

Published: 11:28am, 24 Jun 2024Updated: 7:20pm, 24 Jun 2024

A state-owned developer has beaten its privately owned rivals to complete China’s most advanced reusable rocket test – a six-minute display of precision and power that lit up the northwestern Gobi Desert on Sunday.

The Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology (SAST) said the 10km (6-mile) “hop test” – in which a rocket shoots up, moves sideways and lands – was a “milestone” in the development of reusable rockets in China.

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China is boldly going where no one has gone before

The vertical take-off-vertical landing (VTVL) test “comprehensively verified” several key technologies, including the rocket’s structural integrity, buffer mechanisms and high-precision navigation during landing, it said.

Powered by three engines burning methane and liquid oxygen, the 3.8-metre (12.5ft) diameter test rocket lifted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre at around 1pm Beijing time, according to state-owned newspaper China Space News.

The rocket reached an altitude of 12km (7.5 miles) before the central engine adjusted its thrust to allow a controlled descent. At 50 metres (about 164ft) above the ground, the rocket’s four landing legs were deployed as it slowed to a precise, soft touchdown on the designated recovery pad.

SAST is part of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, a main contractor for the country’s space programme, and the achievement puts it in front of a number of private companies hoping to carry out the same test on their rockets this year.