i-Space is being dumb if they cancel the small rocket. A reusable vehicle would be extremely cost competitive against solids. And reentry from lower speeds is a lot easier. The only alternative in the world market to this rocket is the Rocket Lab Electron.
China's Space Program Thread II
- Thread starter Blitzo
- Start date
by78
General
The latest update on the Xuntian space telescope.
The telescope is to be assembled by March 2024 and then enter full testing and debugging. It's expected to be ready for launch in November 2024.
A recent academic paper mentions that Xuntian space telescope is set to launch in 2025. I don't have access to the paper, and I don't know how 'official' this is or whether it is up-to-date.
by78
General
The International Civil Aviation Organization of the United Nations has officially recognized China's Beidou Navigation Satellite System as a global standard, according to the Civil Aviation Administration of China on Thursday.
Beidou has become one of four global satellite navigation systems recognized by the UN, along with the United States' GPS, Russia's GLONASS and the European Union's Galileo. It has served users in more than 200 countries and regions worldwide.
The domestically developed system meets the requirements for providing global civil aviation applications and is compatible and interoperable with other satellite navigation systems.
The standardization for Beidou in civil aviation is the foundation for its global application, the administration said.
The CAAC first submitted the application for Beidou to be included in ICAO standards at the 37th ICAO Assembly in 2010. The administration collaborated with the China Satellite Navigation System Management Office and other research institutions such as the National Key Laboratory of Air-Ground Integrated New Navigation System at Beihang University to establish a team promote related work.
Over the past decade, the team has held 28 meetings, conducted over 50 discussions, submitted over a hundred technical documents, and responded to more than 2,000 inquiries.
According to the Air Traffic Management Office of the CAAC, it is the first time China's civil aviation has successfully promoted the inclusion of a China-developed complex system into the ICAO standards with its own team.
This achievement is of great significance for promoting the high-quality development of civil aviation. The international standardization work has also nurtured a professional and efficient team for China's civil aviation and accumulated rich experience in the standardization of independently developed technologies with intellectual property rights, according to the administration.
If it is dead before they make a operational reusable vehicle, all the "cost competitive advantages" are just pie in the sky. i-Space needs to catch up the time frame when there is a business with a suitable rocket, otherwise it is dead anyway. Reusable rocket is only profittable above a payload capacity or in some special market segment. The upcoming market demand is the former.
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Seriously, it seems no Chinese company is even close to launching a reusable rocket like SpaceX. Its unfortunate that Ispace is not going through this direction anytime soon. Since the private industry seems to be China's best bet in this department. Hope things Change soon.
by78
General
A model of the Red Dragon One engine from the private company Tianhui Aerospace. LOX/Kerosene, 1000kn thrust, specific impulse 303s, adjustable thrust 50% to 105%.
This is a pretty big deal. Tianhui Aerospace has successfully completed a partial system test run of the 100-ton reusable mixed cycle ( + ) RedDragon-1 engine (红龙一号). The full system hot run will take place later this year.
Tianhui has successfully completed a partial system hot test run, which verified the performance of the oxygen-rich turbine pump and associated components such as valves and pipes.
Tianhui has recently completed a series of tests on the (oxygen and kerosene) turbopumps of the RedDragon-1 engine. Their performance has met all design requirements.