Navigation
Search
|
China Reveals a New Heavy Lift Rocket That Is a Clone of SpaceX's Starship
Wednesday November 6, 2024. 11:00 AM , from Slashdot
Based on its latest specifications, the Long March 9 rocket will have a fully reusable first stage powered by 30 YF-215 engines, which are full-flow staged combustion engines fueled by methane and liquid oxygen, each with a thrust of approximately 200 tons. By way of comparison, Starship's first stage is powered by 33 Raptor engines, also fueled with methane and liquid oxygen, each with a thrust of about 280 tons. The new specifications also include a fully reusable configuration of the rocket, with an upper stage that looks eerily similar to Starship's second stage, complete with flaps in a similar location. According to a presentation at the airshow, China intends to fly this vehicle for the first time in 2033, nearly a decade from now. Last week, Chinese space startup Cosmoleap announced plans to develop a fully reusable 'Leap' rocket with the next few years. 'An animated video that accompanied the funding announcement indicated that the company seeks to emulate the tower catch-with-chopsticks methodology that SpaceX successfully employed during Starship's fifth flight test last month,' reports Ars. Read more of this story at Slashdot.
https://slashdot.org/story/24/11/06/0129252/china-reveals-a-new-heavy-lift-rocket-that-is-a-clone-of...
Related News |
25 sources
Current Date
Nov, Thu 7 - 08:41 CET
|