🚀China’s first reusable rocket could fly this year

SpaceX has set the bar exceedingly high for the space industry. Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy have dramatically cut costs for satellite and scientific payload launches, making low Earth orbit and higher geosynchronous orbits much more accessible.

Unsurprisingly, other organizations and space agencies want in on the action. Case in point: China’s Galactic Energy just announced it could launch its reusable rocket as soon as this year.

And, speaking of SpaceX, Elon Musk’s private space firm just launched yet another lunar lander to the Moon. It could be a historic mission for the US, though recent events have shown there are no guarantees.

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AEROSPACE ENGINEERING SPOTLIGHT

China, and indeed the rest of the world, is looking to catch up with SpaceX.

Beijing-based private space firm Galactic Energy believes it is close to achieving one of the key technological innovations that has made SpaceX so successful in recent years: reusability.

The company could launch its reusable rocket, Pallas-1, as soon as November this year. Named after the Greek goddess of wisdom, the rocket is expected to take off from a launch center on the southern island of Hainan.

"The 49-meter (160-foot) kerosene-liquid oxygen rocket will reportedly have the capacity to fly roughly 50 times. Much like SpaceX’s Falcon 9, its first stage booster will be reusable and it will use a propulsive landing technology to allow vertical touch downs on Earth.

It’s worth noting, though, that Galactic Energy likely won’t recover the rocket’s first stage after its first launch in Novemeber. Instead, in a similar fashion to SpaceX’s Starship, the first launch will be a test flight that will allow Galactic Energy to collect a wealth of data for future flights. The rocket will likely end up performing a hard splashdown in the ocean.

Pallas-1 will be powered by seven proprietary Cangqiong engines and, according to Galactic Energy, the rocket will lift 5 tonnes to low Earth orbit and 3 tonnes to sun-synchronous orbit.

SpaceX raised the bar with its Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets, which leveraged reusable technology to reduce the cost of its satellite and payload services. Now, companies and space agencies around the globe are looking to catch up.

Other startups in China, including Space Pioneer, are looking to launch reusable rockets by next year. The European Space Agency also just published a call for reusable rocket booster concepts, though it is believed they likely won’t have a working reusable rocket until the 2030s

Last week we asked “Which space technologies will be most important ?” here are the results

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 New propulsion systems for reducing space travel times(42%)

🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 3D printing for building future space habitats (9%)

🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️ AI for assisting astronauts in space (21%)

🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️ Reusable technologies for driving down launch costs (28%)

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AERO BULLETIN

We’re in the midst of a new space race with space agencies and private companies the world over racing to send landers to the Moon.

They have their sights set on building lunar habitats sustained by water ice found on the lunar south pole. To help keep you keep track, here’s a quick list of the latest attempts to reach the Moon.

Luna-25

Russia’s Luna-25 mission set out to reach the lunar south pole after launching from the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia in August last year. Unfortunately, Russia’s first Moon landing attempt in 47 years ended with a crash.

Chandrayaan-3

For a while, India’s Chandrayaan-3 lunar lander was seemingly racing Luna-25 to reach the moon. Slow and steady wins the race, as the lander that took a slower route landed successfully, making India the first nation to perform a soft landing near the lunar south pole.

Valery Polyakov

Russian cosmonaut Valery Polyakov holds the single-flight duration record. The cosmonaut spent 438 consecutive days aboard Russia's Mir station between January 1994 and March 1995.

Peregrine Mission One

Astrobotic’s Peregrine lunar lander also set out to reach the lunar south pole. It suffered an engine failure shortly after launch, meaning it ultimately crashed back into Earth’s atmosphere instead of reaching the Moon.

Japan SLIM

Japan’s SLIM lunar lander performed a pinpoint landing on the Moon in January. It did land awkwardly on its nose, but JAXA officials were satisfied that they were able to successfully test their precise landing technology.

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