On the same day that China's first asteroid exploration and sample return journey officially commenced, Arrow Yuan Technology successfully completed its first maritime flight recovery test of the "Yuan Xingzhe No.1" verification rocket.
According to reports from China's official news agency Xinhua, at 4:00 am on Thursday, May 29th, China successfully launched the planetary exploration project Tianwen-2 probe into space using a Long March 3B carrier rocket at the Xichang Satellite Launch Center. This marked the official start of China's first asteroid exploration and sample return journey. If Tianwen-2 successfully completes its mission, China will become the third country after Japan and the United States to obtain original materials from an asteroid.
The New York Times noted in this regard: "Tianwen-2 is not just a scientific exploration. It is also the technical foundation for China's ambitious Tianwen-3 mission. The latter is scheduled to be launched in 2028 with the goal of collecting rock samples from Mars and returning them to Earth. The similar plan by the United States to achieve the same goal is facing significant difficulties. However, this Mars competition should not overshadow the milestone significance of China's first asteroid sample acquisition."
Arrow Yuan Technology's flight test success marks a leap forward in China's reusable rocket technology.
On the same day, China's private rocket company Arrow Yuan Technology (Space Epoch) announced on Thursday, May 29th, that at 4:40 am, the company's "Yuan Xingzhe No.1" verification rocket conducted its first flight recovery test at Dongfang Space Port. The trial was a complete success. Dongfang Space Port, located in Haiyang City, Yantai City, Shandong Province, is China's first maritime space launch mother port.
Headquartered in Beijing, Arrow Yuan Technology stated that the success of this flight recovery test represents a major breakthrough in the development of liquid reusable rockets and has milestone significance. It has made Arrow Yuan Technology the first domestic enterprise in China to achieve a "liquid oxygen methane + stainless steel + maritime soft landing recovery" technology breakthrough. This also marks the entry of large-scale stainless steel reusable carrier rockets into engineering application stages, laying a solid foundation for the first flight of Yuan Xingzhe No.1 later this year.
According to Reuters, as China strives to catch up with the United States, Arrow Yuan Technology is developing reusable rockets to rival SpaceX's "Falcon 9". With China and other major space powers focusing on space tourism, infrastructure construction, and deep space exploration, reusable rockets are crucial for achieving economic feasibility investments.
In an article published on WeChat Official Account, Arrow Yuan Technology introduced that the test flight lasted 125 seconds and reached a height of approximately 2.5 kilometers. The flight test successfully completed eight working phases including ignition takeoff, full-thrust climb, thrust modulation, engine first shutdown, free descent glide, engine second start, deceleration to hover over the sea surface, and maritime soft landing. Based on post-flight data and the evaluation of the "Test Outline", the rocket flight was normal, and the splashdown recovery was normal. The trial was a complete success.
Significant progress but still a gap
Reuters pointed out that Arrow Yuan Technology demonstrated its vertical takeoff and landing (VTVL) technology, indicating its ambitious plans in developing reusable rockets. During this process, rockets vertically take off and return to the ground, achieving vertical landing through engine control of descent speed. SpaceX's "Falcon 9" and "Starship" both adopt this technology. Vertical takeoff and landing technology is critical for any enterprise hoping to recover and reuse rockets, becoming a key focus for global investors and enterprises, significantly reducing launch costs and promoting the popularization of technology applications.
Reuters also introduced that Musk's SpaceX has been able to regularly achieve orbit-level rocket launches and recoveries, but no Chinese enterprise has yet reached this level. The first successful landing test of SpaceX's "Falcon 9" was nearly ten years ago, highlighting the enormous gap faced by companies like Arrow Yuan Technology in catching up.
Arrow Yuan Technology and its Chinese peer LandSpace plan to conduct their first flights of reusable rockets later this year, but relevant timelines have not been disclosed. In September last year, LandSpace successfully completed a 10-kilometer height vertical takeoff and landing test, marking China's first achievement in the vertical takeoff and return of a rocket's mid-air second ignition.
Source: DW
Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1833478555055104/
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