Mini Starship? Chinese startup wants to make its own version of SpaceX Mars rocketBy Andrew Jones published 22 days agoSpace Epoch has raised money and started making propellant tanks.
SPACE-EPOCH recently completed its first disruptive pressure test of the D4.0m stainless-steel tank to be used in first stage of XZY-1 rocket
The tank measures ~23m tall and weighs 3.6 tonnes
Another CGI of the single-engine stage to be test fired: XZH-1D1, with logos of investors. On the bottom is the logo of JiuZhouYunJian which provides the 70t Longyun methalox engine, but what is StarNet? twitter.com/CNSpaceflight/…
Coming up next: hot fire test of the prototype stage XZY-1 D1 which is equipped with one 70t Longyun methalox engine provided by JiuZhouYunJian, by the end of 2022, that is in the next 4 weeks.twitter.com/CNSpaceflight/…
The VTVL(splash down directly on the sea) vehicle of Space Epoch. The methane/Lox engine provided by JZYJ with 76t thrust at sea level.via weibo.com/5658451754/Onl…
CGI ofhow their controlled splash down look like https://x.com/CNSpaceflight/status/1740046610170814530I wonder if they have to reinforce their rocket body more than typical rocket, that look like a rather harsh impact on water. Perhaps this is also why they choose stainless steel?
XZH-2 is vertical at Haiyang spaceport (location attached based on NOTMAR), a high altitude launch followed by a controlled splashdown is expected in the near future. A static fire has reportedly been completed earlier today.
SEpoch just completed the VTVL splash down test in Haiyang. Video taken by Douyin user
At 4:40 on May 29, 2025, the Yuanxingzhe-1 verification rocket of Jianyuan Technology conducted its first flight recovery test at the Oriental Spaceport, and the test was a complete success. The Yuanxingzhe-1 verification rocket is a full-size thin-walled stainless steel rocket with a diameter of 4.2 meters, a total height of about 26.8 meters, a take-off mass of about 57 tons, a test flight time of 125 seconds, and a flight altitude of about 2.5 kilometers.This flight test successfully completed 8 working stages: ignition takeoff, full thrust climb, variable thrust adjustment, engine shutdown once, free descent glide, engine secondary start, deceleration to hover on the sea surface, and soft landing on the sea surface. According to the subsequent flight data and the "Test Outline" assessment, the rocket flew normally, splashed down and recovered normally, and the test was a complete success.The success of this flight recovery test is a major breakthrough in the development of liquid reusable rockets and has milestone significance. Jianyuan Technology has become the first domestic company to achieve the technical breakthrough of "liquid oxygen and methane + stainless steel + soft landing recovery at sea". It also marks that the large-size stainless steel reusable launch vehicle has entered the engineering application stage, laying a solid foundation for this year's first flight of Yuanxingzhe No. 1.
Off balance after venting or water leakage into the engine bay?
