China's Unstoppable Space Ambition... Successful Test of 500t-Class Rocket

100t Larger Than Russia's RD-180, the World's Largest Rocket... Likely to Be Used for Moon Base Construction
Successful Test of Rocket Similar to SpaceX Reusable Liquid Fuel Rocket

[Asia Economy Senior Reporter Cho Young-shin] China has succeeded in developing the world's largest liquid-fuel rocket engine.

Photo by Global Times capture

The state-run Global Times reported on the 7th that China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) has successfully completed the first test of a 500-ton thrust liquid-fuel rocket engine (project name YF-130).

The thrust of the liquid-fuel rockets currently used by China for space exploration is at the 120-ton level.

The world's largest liquid-fuel rocket currently belongs to Russia, with a thrust of about 400 tons for this rocket (RD-180). This rocket has been used in the U.S. space launch vehicles Atlas III and Atlas V.

The Global Times, citing CASC's announcement, emphasized the significance of the first test success, stating that this rocket will be a milestone for China's aerospace industry.

The 500-ton thrust liquid-fuel rocket is expected to be used for building China's lunar research base. China has revealed a space development blueprint to construct a lunar space research base by 2035 in cooperation with Russia and others.

It is also expected to carry out missions to launch Mars exploration probes. China has plans to send a 44-ton probe to Mars.

In addition, the Global Times reported that China has developed and recently completed testing of a reusable 80-ton liquid oxygen-methane fuel rocket.

The South China Morning Post (SCMP) also reported that China has succeeded in developing and is testing a 500-ton thrust liquid-fuel rocket and a reusable 80-ton liquid-fuel rocket (project name YF-209) capable of 3 to 4 reuses.

SCMP stated that it took China 10 years to develop the 500-ton thrust liquid-fuel rocket and that it will aid China's aerospace development, including the lunar research base project.

SCMP further explained that the reusable rocket engine is similar to the Merlin-1D engine of the U.S. SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, which is capable of vertical takeoff and landing. It added that the reusable rocket can be used again within 48 hours, significantly reducing space development costs.

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