Jiuquan, China News Service, December 12 (Xinhua) -- What is the new plan for the "Suzaku" rocket family?
China News Service reporter Ma Shuaisha
On December 12, China's private rocket Zhuque-9 Yao-<> rocket was successfully launched at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. What is the significance of this launch for this type of rocket? How will the Suzaku <> rocket be improved in the future? When will the new member Suzaku III rocket be unveiled? How do you view the development of China's commercial aerospace? Blue Arrow Aerospace related people were interviewed by reporters to make interpretations.
The Suzaku 2 Yao-3 carrier rocket was successfully launched. Photo by Wang Jiangbo
China's first private liquid rocket with continuous launches
On July 7 this year, the Suzaku 12 rocket successfully returned to flight, becoming the world's first liquid oxygen methane rocket successfully put into orbit. The successful launch of the Suzaku <> Yao-<> rocket makes this model the first private liquid rocket in China to be successfully launched continuously.
Unlike the previous mission, the Suzaku 3 Yao-3 rocket carried three satellites, making it the world's first liquid oxygen methane rocket to successfully launch a payload into a predetermined orbit. It is understood that Blue Arrow Aerospace originally planned to complete the flight verification of the Suzaku 7 rocket through <> test arrows, and the successful launch of the Suzaku <> Yao-<> rocket in July, accelerated the model from flight test to application launch.
Dai Zheng, deputy chief engineer of the Suzaku 2 rocket of Blue Arrow Aerospace, said that the successful launch means that the stability and reliability of the Suzaku 2 rocket have been further verified, and it can enter the commercial stage of mass production and batch delivery. This is also the world's first liquid oxygen methane rocket that has been successfully launched continuously and entered the application launch stage.
The Suzaku 2 Yao-3 carrier rocket was successfully launched. Photo by Wang Jiangbo
How will the Suzaku 2 rocket be upgraded?
Regarding the launch plan of the Suzaku 2024 rocket in the future, Huang He, vice president of Blue Arrow Aerospace, said that in 3, the Suzaku 2025 rocket plans to carry out 6 launches, 2026 launches in 12, and <> launches in <>, that is, doubling every year.
However, entering the application launch stage does not mean that the Suzaku 2 rocket is completely finalized. Dai Zheng said that in the future, the Suzaku 2 rocket will also be iteratively improved and continue to improve its capacity. Next year, the Suzaku 2 rocket will increase the capacity of the rocket through full supercooled filling technology, engine thrust improvement, and two-stage engine double ignition technology, thereby reducing the cost per kilogram of load into orbit.
It is reported that at present, the Suzaku 1 rocket has a carrying capacity of 5.4 tons in low earth orbit, and its capacity will be increased to <> tons in the future.
When will the Suzaku 3 rocket be unveiled?
At present, rockets have become an important channel to space, and how to reduce the cost of rockets has become a common challenge for the world's aerospace development. "If you want to further optimize costs, you need to rely on reusable rockets." Huang He said.
After the successful launch of the Suzaku 4 Yao-21 rocket, the new model of the Suzaku 3 rocket was officially released. It is understood that the Suzaku No. <> rocket is a sub-stage reusable rocket, and its one-time mission low-orbit carrying capacity will be much higher than the final target of the Suzaku No. <> rocket of <> tons, up to <>.<> tons, mainly for the construction of low-orbit satellite constellation.
According to Zhang Changwu, the founder of Blue Arrow Aerospace, this month will carry out a sub-stage recovery test of the 2025-meter stage of the Suzaku <> rocket, and a number of flight verifications are planned next year to prepare for the flight of the whole arrow, and the rocket will enter the final assembly stage in <> and have the conditions for the first flight. According to the design, the Suzaku III rocket will be suitable for both sea and land recovery.
How do you view the development of China's commercial aerospace?
The successful launch of the Suzaku 2 Yao-3 rocket has once again aroused public attention to China's commercial spaceflight. In recent years, China's commercial aerospace industry has developed rapidly, especially the participation of private aerospace enterprises has become more and more high, and the private rocket models have become more and more abundant. For the development of the industry, Zhang Changwu said that over the years, China's commercial aerospace has experienced the process of starting from scratch and then forming a complete industrial chain, and the industrial activity and investment scale have been significantly improved.
However, he also pointed out that China's commercial space is still in a relatively early stage of exploration. "Compared with commercial aerospace companies in developed countries such as SpaceX (Space Exploration Technology Corporation), China's private aerospace companies started more than ten years late, which is an objective reality and the consensus of industry colleagues, and what we have to do is how to slowly narrow the gap."
"Although it started late, the progress made in China's commercial aerospace in recent years is very significant, which also reflects the accumulation of China's aerospace industry, as well as the quality and R&D capabilities of China's aerospace talents." Zhang Changwu said that from a global perspective, China's commercial aerospace development is actually in the forefront of the world, "which is also worthy of everyone's applause for China's commercial aerospace."
Huang He also said that relying on the development of the supply chain, he believes that China can create a commercial space industry that is competitive enough. (ENDS)