Space Epoch makes significant progress with reusable stainless steel rocket
Orion Goodman
Space Epoch Performs Hot Fire Tests for Ambitious Stainless Steel Rocket
Image Credit: Jiuzhou Yunjian
Space Epoch, a Chinese launch startup, has made substantial progress in developing its reusable stainless steel rocket after completing recent hot fire tests. At their testing site in Anhui Province, tests were conducted on a 4.2-meter-diameter stainless steel propellant tank and a Longyun-70 methane-liquid oxygen engine developed by engine manufacturer Jiuzhou Yunjian.
Space Epoch has ambitious plans to develop a 64-meter-tall launcher made of stainless steel that can place 6.5 tons in a sun-synchronous orbit at the height of 1,050 kilometers. The launcher will be reusable up to twenty times, distinguishing it from conventional single-use rockets. According to Jiuzhou Yunjian, the static fire tests, which included ignition and restart tests and ignition with low levels of fuel, have laid a solid foundation for future flight tests.
Inspired by SpaceX and their use of stainless steel tanks and methane-liquid oxygen engines, the chinese companyemploys an iterative approach similar to the SN/serial number designations employed in the development of the SpaceX Starship. XZH-1 D1 was used for the recent combined system test, and XZH-1 D2 will be used for the first suborbital sea splashdown recovery test in 2023.
Space Epocha recent addition to China's commercial launch sector, received an undisclosed amount of angel funding in August of last year. The company has also conducted pressure tests on thin-walled stainless steel tanks with diameters of 3 and 4 meters. Space Epoch is determined to become the leader in China's interplanetary transportation system, contribute to the nation's space infrastructure, and launch capacity expansion. In its sights, it has markets such as point-to-point transportation, space tourism, space station construction, deep space exploration, and planetary defense.
Jiuzhou Yunjian, a rocket engine startup founded in 2017, was chosen by another Chinese launch startup, Rocket Pi, to power its Darwin-1 rocket, which is scheduled to launch this year. According to reports, the state-owned Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology (SAST), a subsidiary of China's primary space contractor, CASC, is considering using Jiuzhou Yunjian's reusable 70-ton-thrust open cycle Longyun engines for its potential response to the SpaceX starship challenge. The China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT), the other major rocket-making arm of CASC, has also presented a concept for a launcher that takes inspiration from the SpaceX starship.
Zhuque-2, China's first methane-liquid oxygen rocket, was developed commercially and tested last month. However, due to an issue with its second-stage vernier engines, it could not reach orbit.
