The technology differs from the system used by the commercial company SpaceX on its Falcon 9 rockets. As the first stage of Falcon 9 falls back to earth, its engines reignite when it reaches a speed of 3km per second, slowing it down to reduce impact as it lands vertically on the ground.
Deng Xinyu, a researcher on the Chinese rocket recovery program, said in an article on the academy’s website that vertical landing involved many challenges and was extremely difficult to achieve.
SpaceX has performed a series of successful vertical landings which demonstrate the technology’s feasibility, but Chinese researchers have rejected the approach, the article said.
Deng wrote that the vertical landing system needed carrying extra fuel for landing, which meant rockets could only carry smaller payloads into space.
The Falcon rocket also uses nine small rocket engines to generate thrust, which reduces the launch vehicle’s overall reliability and efficiency. “The mainstream trend of modern rocket development is to increase the thrust and reduce the number of rocket engine. That is also why China, as well as Airbus, Boeing and Lockheed Martin did not use the technology,” Deng said.
China’s government has funded research into both approaches before concentrating efforts on the parachute system.
A large scale test experiment using the technology was carried out two years ago.
Bao Weimin, professor of aerospace technology at Peking University and a science adviser to the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, told the state-run news agency Xinhua this week that the reuse of rockets was essential to cut costs.
“Compared to mainstream rockets overseas, Long March rockets in China have lower costs, but with the increase of Chinese space exploration, the costs must be trimmed further,” he was quoted as saying.
