China's Space Program Thread II

by78

by78

General
by78 said:
AZSpace/Ziwei will launch its B300 commercial cargo ship in August, 2024. B300 comes in two versions: B300-L is non-returnable and can stay in space for one year; B300-F is designed to return to Earth intact and can operate in orbit for one month. Both versions have a cargo capacity of 300kg. In addition to transporting cargo, they are also designed to carry science experiments, which are expected to be in demand by private industry in sectors such as pharmaceuticals, material science, space biology, etc.

53573769155_69a6b55b52_o.jpg
53573530333_55bf355956_o.jpg
Click to expand...

AZSpace/Ziwei officially unveils 1:1 models of its B300L and B300F cargo ships.

53675221412_6101f53ba6_o.jpg

53676553935_1cdaced59a_o.jpg
 
by78

by78

General
Yet another private launch startup. This one is called Tianzhang Rocket (天章火箭), and judging by its display booth, it might be affiliated with PieSat. The company is currently developing the Houyi-1 (后羿一号) launch vehicle, which is planned to have its maiden flight in 2026.

Some specs on the basic variant:
– Length: 60m
– Diameter: 3.8m
– Fairing diameter: 4.2m
– Fairing length: 12.7m
– Takeoff weight: 430t
– Carrying capacity: 6 tons to 500km SSO.

Other variants are planned, such as one with boosters (HY-1A) and reusable versions.

53676322953_55d782821b_k.jpg
53676558240_1778f66c6d_k.jpg
 
by78

by78

General
by78 said:
The first Force-85/YL-85 (原力-85) engine produced by OrienSpace's new engine plant in Wuxi has rolled off the production line. Force-85 is a resusable 85-ton LOX/Kerosene engine intended for the Gravity-2 launch vehicle. Once finished, the engine plant will have the capacity to produce 300 Force-85 engines per year.

53503492263_acfd1eb673_o.jpg
Click to expand...

It looks like OrienSpace is building a launch vehicle production base in Tai'an, Shandong province. According to an official
Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!
, OrienSpace signed an agreement with the Tai'an municipal government for the construction of a launch vehicle production base in the Wenhe New District.

53676282081_c6b6acfaec_b.jpg
 
by78

by78

General
by78 said:
Some screen captures of an academic paper published by the private launch company LandSpace. It talks about China's LOX/Methane engine development efforts, among other things. The paper mentions that currently LandSpace and Xi'an Aerospace Propulsion Institute are separately working on 200-ton full-flow staged combustion cycle (FFSC) LOX/Methane engines.

Some parameters of LandSpace's FFSC LOX/Methane design (it falls between SpaceX's Raptor and Blue Origin's BE-4):
- Trust (sea level, vacuum): 2200kN, 2355kN
- Specific impulse (sea level, vacuum): 3219m/s or 328.25s, 3461m/s or 352.93s


52743582243_aa44a3d406_o.jpg


52742577102_216054d28a_o.jpg


52743508025_04987efa35_o.jpg
Click to expand...

An
Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!
on the 200-ton LOX/Methane engine from LandSpace.

The engine is code named "Blue Flames" (蓝焱), and its official designation is BF-20. Development of the engine began at the end of 2021, and full-system test runs are expected in 2025. The engine is expected to enter service in 2027.

53676461334_371f98a180_h.jpg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top