The SpaceX company declares that the reusable returned rockets allow to reduce the price of launches. It is impossible to verify these statements, but the understanding that this is true is gradually growing. Although Russia initially was skeptical of such carriers, but now it is also leading the development of returnable steps. For example, RSC Energia is calculating the opportunity to make reusable promising Soyuz launch vehicles. Center them. Khrunicheva
resumed work on the project to create a stage for the Angara-1.2 rocket, capable of returning to Earth, for its repeated use. The development is also conducted by the State Rocket Center named after Academician V.P. Makeev (Miass), one of the largest research and design centers of Russia for the development of rocket and space technology. In early 2018,
there were rumors about the resumption of the KORONA project (a space disposable rocket, a single-stage vehicle), which can bring about 7 tons of payload into the reference orbit, and then return with a vertical landing on Earth.
Neighboring China is also actively developing the space program, and in terms of creating missiles with a return stage, it can even outrun Russia by several years.
On April 24, 2018, Long Lehao from the Chinese Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT) spoke at a symposium on commercial space exploration in Harbin (China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, CALT), SpaceNews reports.
A Chinese design engineer said that development of the Changzheng-8 launch vehicle (Long March 8) with a reusable first stage is currently underway. The first test launch can take place already in 2020.
One of the attendees of the symposium photographed a slide from the presentation of Lehao. The slide shows a part of Changzhen-8, which will include a return stage.
Slide from Long Lehao's presentation at the China International Symposium on Commercial Space Exploration, April 24, 2018. Photo: Sina Weibo / SpaceflightfansIt was planned that the Changzheng-8 launch vehicle would be able to output a payload of up to 4.5 metric tons per 700-kilometer sun-synchronous orbit for both government and commercial launches, including competition in the global market.
University of Aeronautics and Astronautics at Beihang in Beijing, Huang Jun (Space), told SpaceNews that Changzheng-8 adapts existing launch vehicle designs to implement SpaceX's Falcon 9 vertical landing.
The first stage of Changzhen-8 is based on the design of the new-generation Changzheng-7 rocket, with a diameter of 3.35 meters. The second stage is based on the
"Changzheng-3A" stage with a cryogenic fuel vapor engine with liquid hydrogen - liquid oxygen. In addition, two solid-fuel boosters will be used in the new rocket, probably based on
Changzheng-11 . The first stage will land vertically on the engines, and rocket boosters, apparently, on parachutes, like the accelerators of the American shuttles.
According to the professor, for the first stage, Changzheng-8 will refine the YF-100 rocket engines, which now in Changzheng-7 work on a mixture of kerosene and liquid oxygen. At the time, these engines, apparently, were modeled on the basis of the Soviet RD-120.
China is not the first time considering the possibility of launching the returned steps. Previously, the Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), the main contractor of the Space Program of China, tested parachutes for the return of the steps. Last year, experts from the Shanghai Academy of Space Flight Technology (SAST) announced plans to adapt Changzhen-6 to a reusable first stage by 2020s. Work in this direction is also carried out by a private company Linkspace.
In the long term, the CASC recently published a roadmap, according to which the re-use of
all launch vehicles is envisaged by 2035.
In addition to cheaper start-ups and increased competitiveness, the technology of return stages will help alleviate the problem of rocket debris falling in populated areas near three Chinese space centers.