Official poster of LandSpace's hopper of the second jump.
By the way, It seems the engine couldn't gimbal if they cover the insulation like that.
If the engine couldn't gimbal. No wonder why Land Space need to wait for a perfect weather condition
https://twitter.com/raz_liu/status/1820659147475706295QuoteBy the way, It seems the engine couldn't gimbal if they cover the insulation like that.QuoteIf the engine couldn't gimbal. No wonder why Land Space need to wait for a perfect weather condition
Land Space's 10km VTVL footage
Yes, today at GMT+8
Another step forward for China's #reusablerocket!The prototype of #Zhuque3 reusable rocket blasted off from #Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on Wednesday, completing a 10km-level Vertical takeoff & vertical landing (#VTVL) flight test.（Photo：LandSpace）
Land Space has completed 10 km level VTVL test. I was wrong about the which one would jump
High altitude secondary ignition.
China's #Zhuque3 reusable rocket prototype has completed 10km-level #VTVLtest. Zhuque-3 is a methane and liquid oxygen-powered reusable rocket developed by a Chinese private company #LandSpace. It is expected to be ready for maiden flight in 2025.(Video: LandSpace)
The best moment of LANDSPACE's Zhuque-3 VTVL test is of course the TQ-12A reignition in midair, captured by the onboard camera.
Found this video on YouTube that appears to show almost the entire 11 September 2024 200 seconds "hop" by the Zhuque-3 VTVL test stage from liftoff to landing (despite the somewhat annoying watermark, occasional text, flag, and sound effects), the view is from an on-board camera mounted near one of the three landing legs:
CCTV released 360 degree VR footage of the flight. You can adjust the view to any angle you want. That’s how the raceway was blown away during the secondary ignition. Via Douyin CCTV
I believe this is from 360 degree VR footage release by CCTV on Douyin app exclusively, where you can look around the video footage.
Mission badge of Zhuque-3 VTVL-1 rocket recovery test flight. Source:m.weibo.cn/status/Oxe2Q60…
Starship achieves "chopsticks" to hold rockets. Dong Kai, deputy chief engineer of the Suzaku-3 rocket model of Blue Arrow Aerospace: We are only one step away from fully reusable carriersAccording to CCTV News, on the 13th local time, the "Starship" of the US Space Exploration Technology Company (SpaceX) conducted its fifth test flight, attempting and successfully achieving the landing and recovery of the rocket booster for the first time. The booster was caught by a launch tower with a robotic arm. This attempt was also likened to holding the rocket with "chopsticks".Regarding this test flight, on October 15, Dong Kai, deputy chief engineer of the Suzaku-3 rocket model of Blue Arrow Aerospace, pointed out to the reporter of "Daily Economic News" that the biggest highlight of the fifth test flight of SpaceX's "Starship" was that on the basis of the previous four flights, the recovery of the super-heavy first stage and the precise splashdown of the second stage at the predetermined position were successfully completed-only one step away from fully reusing the carrier.According to public information, the "Starship" rocket is about 120 meters long and about 9 meters in diameter. It consists of two parts. The first stage is a "super-heavy" booster about 70 meters long, and the second stage is a "Starship" spacecraft. Both stages are reusable. The design goal of the rocket is to send people and cargo to Earth orbit, the moon and even Mars.Yuan Yu, general manager of the Technical Strategy Department of the Blue Arrow Aerospace Research and Development Center, believes that the biggest highlight of this flight is that all technical goals of the entire system have been verified, proving to the world that this whole new set of major plans is feasible, including the first-stage suspension recovery and the second-stage reentry recovery.In this test flight, the scene of the "chopsticks" clamping the rocket is impressive. Dong Kai introduced that compared with vertical landing, since the weight of the super-heavy rocket itself is already very large, the most direct benefit of this rapid recovery method is to reduce the weight of the recovery leg part, which is equivalent to reducing the dry weight of the structure. It is very beneficial to improve and ensure the carrying capacity of the rocket and achieve the ultimate goal of the carrier. However, the trial and error cost of this method is also relatively high. Once it fails, it may cause damage to both the rocket and the launch tower.In Dong Kai's view, the problem of space delivery capability must be solved after all. The way to solve this problem is to recover and reuse rockets. "In the future, we need to cultivate our internal strength. The first and foremost core is to use Suzaku-3 to solve the problem of whether China has reusable rockets."According to Dong Kai, if all goes well, it is expected that in the first quarter of next year, Suzaku-3 may participate in large-scale ground tests in its complete form for the first time, and it is planned to start three flights of Suzaku-3 next year, hoping to achieve the recovery of a sub-stage within three flights.
In a podcast with the deputy chief Dongkai. The first batch of ZQ-3 may still use the TQ-12A engine. Quote: "In our ZQ-3 test flight plan, we use this engine (TQ-12 series). The ZQ-3 spec would be different at different iteration stage of the engine" via guiguzaozhidao.fireside.fm/20240348
