China Claims Successful Rocket Vertical Landing at Sea—Did It Happen?

China claimed that it has successfully completed a rocket vertical landing test at sea, which could pave the way for future advancements in the country's space technology sector, according to a report by the Global Times.

The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) carried out the launching-from-land and landing-at-sea flight trial in Haiyang, East China's Shandong Province, as per a statement by CAS Space, a commercial spaceflight firm.

Rocket Vertical Landing Test

In this trial, measuring technologies under the influence of marine clutters, communication and spacecraft tracking, and rocket stage recovery at sea were all put to the test.

The 2.1-meter-long, 0.5-meter-diameter rocket prototype, which had a launch weight of 93 kilograms, flew more than 1,000 meters in the air. The smooth hovering descent was followed by a deceleration caused by the engine's reverse thrust.

Before the rocket touched down, the landing speed was slowed to under two meters per second with a landing precision of under ten meters.

According to the CAS Institute of Mechanics, the complete landing test took around ten minutes. CAS developers also said that the success of the rocket prototype's vertical sea landing paves the way for further technological development.

They include space tourism, rocket stage recovery, and a platform for near-space scientific experiments. The Lijian-3 and Lijian-3 heavy-lift launchers could benefit greatly from the rocket recovery technology developed at sea.

This technology will help China conduct larger-scale space exploration while lowering costs.

Near-Space Scientific Experiments

Lian Jie, a senior engineer with the institute, said the platform for near-space scientific experiments could launch as early as the end of 2023.

Another senior engineer from CAS Space, Wu Weiping, went into more detail about the potential uses for future space travel.

He claimed that people traveling inside the payload could experience weightlessness for three to seven minutes at the height of about 100 kilometers above the Earth in near space.

In contrast to SpaceX, which successfully completed its first rocket stage recovery at sea in April 2016, CAS has concentrated on creating its own domestic technology, including both software and hardware.

Landing the rocket stage at sea would considerably lower the cost of rocket launches. By having the landing pad move at sea, less energy would be required for the rocket to return to an on-land landing location.

According to Pang Zhihao, a prominent space expert based in Beijing, sea recovery could assist in preventing impact damage during an attempt at an in-land landing, even if it would increase the level of complexity due to the complex sea conditions.

For China, the successful rocket vertical landing test at sea represents a significant advancement in the country's space technology development.

Thanks to potential cost savings and technological advances, China's space program is expected to grow significantly in the following years.