Reusable Long March 9 rocket design on display at Zhuhai

15/11/2024 13:44

        A Chinese state-owned aerospace company unveiled a fully reusable design for its Long March 9 booster at the country's largest airshow in Zhuhai this week, saying it would rival the heavy-lift systems of U.S. space behemoth SpaceX. In an interview with state broadcaster CCTV, the company, China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp, said its rocket could carry 100 tons to low-earth orbit, and up to 50 tons to lunar-transfer orbit. The Long March 9 is a two-stage design, and the goal was for both stages to eventually be fully reusable, the company said. Its first version, shown in 2018, was expendable, meaning the booster would fall back to Earth and be destroyed after use. It has not been flown. SpaceX's Falcon 9 booster can carry 50 tons to low-earth orbit, and has launched nearly 400 times, with 349 successful landings and 324 reflights, the company says on its website. Its Starship booster, designed to carry up to 150 tons to orbit, is still being tested. China's AVIC,
        another state-owned company, showed off its uncrewed spaceplane at the air show, saying it was designed to carry cargo to the country's space station, launched in 2021. The company said the China Manned Space Agency awarded a contract for engineering flight verification of the spaceplane in late October.