In 2022, the China National Space Agency (CNSA) expressed its intention to use a rocket system capable of landing back on earth like the rocket used by SpaceX. This week the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology (SAST) announced their successful launch of a rocket with this capability in the Gobi Desert.
The test was carried out on June 23 with a rocket equipped with three liquid methane-oxygen engines successfully launched up to a height of 12 kilometers before landing back on earth. Like the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, the SAST rocket has four sticks that allow for a vertical landing.
This time the rocket has a diameter of 3.5 meters but next year SAST will test a rocket with a diameter of 4 meters with the ability to launch a cargo weighing 6500 kilograms into an orbit 300 kilometers from the earth. The next plan is a rocket with a diameter of 7 meters with the ability to launch a cargo weighing 20,000 kilograms into an orbit 300 kilometers from the earth.
A rocket that can return to earth and be recycled will reduce launch costs compared to the Long March rockets that CNSA uses for their current missions.
