China's Historic Reusable Rocket Breakthrough (Long March 10B)

Why in News?

Recently, China has successfully executed its first-ever controlled recovery of an orbital-class rocket booster.

• China launched its new Long March 10B carrier rocket from the Hainan Commercial Space Launch Site.
• Stages - The 2-stage rocket successfully deployed its satellite payload into target orbit.
• Milestone - With this landing, China becomes only the 2^nd nation in the world after the United States to successfully recover an orbital launch vehicle booster.
• Long March 10B Technical Specs – It is a liquid-fueled carrier rocket with a 5-meter core diameter.
• Its first stage is powered by seven YF-100K engines burning a kerosene-liquid oxygen (LOX) mix, while the upper stage utilizes liquid methane-LOX.
• It can carry up to 16,000 kg to LEO in its reusable configuration.

Comparison of U.S. and China Models

• Working - As the 63-metre-tall booster descended under its own thrust toward the recovery vessel Linghangzhe, it deployed 4 specialised landing hooks.
• These hooks engaged tensioned cables strung across a flexible, hydraulic-damped net platform, arresting the rocket mid-air and neutralising the remaining kinetic energy.
• Landing legs add deadweight, reducing the total mass a rocket can ferry to space.
• By shifting the structural engineering burden from the vehicle to the sea-based platform, the rocket can maximize its fuel efficiency and payload capacity.
• Significance
  • The Gateway to China's Moon Program
  • Unjamming the Satellite Megaconstellation Bottleneck
  • Accelerated Reflight Ambitions

Quick Facts

Reference

Reuters | China tests sea-based rocket booster recovery system