"Musk, Watch Out"... China to Build Reusable Rocket Surpassing SpaceX [Reading Science]

) China's first Mars probe Tianwen-1 is being carried by the Long March 5 Y4 rocket, which lifted off from the launch pad at Wenchang Space Launch Site in Hainan Province on the 23rd. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] China plans to develop a large reusable rocket within the next five years that surpasses the United States' SpaceX Falcon 9, currently the world's highest-performing rocket, to send astronauts for manned space development, including its own space station and lunar exploration.

On the 7th, the U.S. space media 'Space.com' reported that Wang Xiaojun, director of the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT), revealed these specific plans at an event hosted by the International Astronautical Federation (IAF) on the 17th of last month.

According to the report, China is developing a 'next-generation manned launch vehicle' that uses a reusable first stage rocket to transport astronauts to its own space station 'Tiangong' and lunar exploration missions. This launch vehicle will be significantly larger and more powerful than the currently used Shenzhou spacecraft to carry bigger manned spacecraft. In particular, the first stage rocket will separate the upper part and return or decelerate to a designated location for 'landing,' with the ability to refuel and reignite the engine multiple times for reuse.

Currently, China uses the Long March 2F rocket to launch the manned Shenzhou spacecraft, but the next-generation launch vehicle intended to replace it will incorporate new technologies to be reusable and use environmentally friendly fuel. The Long March 2F rocket uses dinitrogen tetroxide and hydrazine as fuel, which are easy to manage at room temperature and easy to reignite but are extremely toxic and cause severe air pollution, leading to a global trend of avoiding their use except for intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs). Accordingly, CALT plans to use kerosene and liquid oxygen as fuel for the next-generation launch vehicle. CALT has recently applied these fuels to new rockets such as Long March 5, 6, 7, and 8.

Additionally, CALT plans to develop two versions of the next-generation manned launch vehicle: two-stage and three-stage. The two-stage version is designed for low Earth orbit with a payload capacity of 14 tons and will be used to transport astronauts to Tiangong. The three-stage version has a payload capacity of 27 tons, equipped with two boosters, and is planned for deep space exploration missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. China previously announced in its space development white paper in February last year that it aims to complete and launch the next-generation space launch vehicle between 2021 and 2025.

Meanwhile, globally, space powers are actively competing to develop reusable rockets to reduce launch costs. The most advanced is Elon Musk's SpaceX Falcon 9, commercialized since 2010. Currently developed up to Block 5, its first-stage booster can re-enter the atmosphere and reignite engines, allowing recovery via landing pads or drone ships for multiple uses, and the second-stage fairing is also reusable. As a result, SpaceX has succeeded in drastically reducing the cost of sending cargo such as satellites into space from $20,000 per kilogram to under $2,000, playing a leading role in revitalizing private space development.

South Korea also entered the reusable space rocket development field last year by successfully developing rocket engine reignition technology. The Ministry of Science and ICT announced plans to support the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) with a total of 12 billion KRW, including 4.5 billion KRW this year and 7.5 billion KRW next year, to develop a high-performance liquid rocket engine with 100-ton thrust that is reusable.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.