Made a larger crater than last time, came in hot.
It'll take them a few more, but they're getting there.
The key difference is that their take on the Falcon 9 design uses methane instead of RP1, which burns clean and doesn't require soot cleanup, so the refurbishment should be easier once they refine the design
8
burble @lemmy.dbzer0.com - 1day
Methalox, so hot right now. Starship, New Glenn, Zhuque 3, Long March 12, Neutron, Nova, Terran R...
6
Clay_pidgin - 19hr
I'm not clued into the Chinese aerospace situation. There seem to be a lot of rockets appearing. Are these truly private companies competing, design bureaus like the soviets did, or state agencies?
3
burble @lemmy.dbzer0.com - 8hr
It's a mix. And I don't fully understand it.
The Long March rockets come from CALT and SAST within CASC, which is state owned.
The Kinetica rockets are from CAS Space, which is state owned.
LandSpace (Zhuque rockets) is private, but their first rocket was solid fueled and probably based on a missile, so who knows. Then they pivoted to liquids.
There are more. I think i-Space is on that same solid missile to liquid arc. And Galactic Energy. And Orienspace. I guarantee I'm missing more, but there's definitely a theme here.
4
Clay_pidgin - 6hr
Fascinating! Thank you for sharing what you know.
1
CookieOfFortune @lemmy.world - 5hr
China’s strategy with new tech is to subsidize a number of startups and have them compete until there are a few winners.
llamacoffee in spaceflight @sh.itjust.works
China just carried out its second reusable launch attempt in three weeks
https://arstechnica.com/space/2025/12/china-just-carried-out-its-second-reusable-launch-attempt-in-three-weeks/Made a larger crater than last time, came in hot. It'll take them a few more, but they're getting there.
The key difference is that their take on the Falcon 9 design uses methane instead of RP1, which burns clean and doesn't require soot cleanup, so the refurbishment should be easier once they refine the design
Methalox, so hot right now. Starship, New Glenn, Zhuque 3, Long March 12, Neutron, Nova, Terran R...
I'm not clued into the Chinese aerospace situation. There seem to be a lot of rockets appearing. Are these truly private companies competing, design bureaus like the soviets did, or state agencies?
It's a mix. And I don't fully understand it.
The Long March rockets come from CALT and SAST within CASC, which is state owned.
The Kinetica rockets are from CAS Space, which is state owned.
LandSpace (Zhuque rockets) is private, but their first rocket was solid fueled and probably based on a missile, so who knows. Then they pivoted to liquids.
There are more. I think i-Space is on that same solid missile to liquid arc. And Galactic Energy. And Orienspace. I guarantee I'm missing more, but there's definitely a theme here.
Fascinating! Thank you for sharing what you know.
China’s strategy with new tech is to subsidize a number of startups and have them compete until there are a few winners.