China\u2019s rocket start-up LandSpace has made no secret about drawing inspiration from Elon Musk\u2019s SpaceX. <\/p>\n
Earlier this month, the Beijing-based firm became the first Chinese entity to conduct a reusable rocket test. That put SpaceX on alert and LandSpace is now preparing to go public to fund its future projects, just as its bigger and far more successful US rival considers an initial public offering of its own.<\/p>\n
Even though LandSpace\u2019s Zhuque-3 rocket test ended in failure, its aspiration to become second only to SpaceX in reusable rockets is providing fresh impetus to China\u2019s space industry, which has long been dominated by risk-averse, state-owned entities.<\/p>\n
\u201c[SpaceX] can push products to the edge and even into failure, quickly identifying limits and iterating,\u201d Zhuque-3 chief designer Dai Zheng told state broadcaster CCTV after the rocket\u2019s inaugural flight.<\/p>\n
Dai said his decision in 2016 to join LandSpace and leave the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, the country\u2019s main state-owned rocket developer, was partly motivated by SpaceX\u2019s focus on reusability and his desire to create a Chinese equivalent.<\/p>\n
LandSpace\u2019s focus on giving China its own low-cost launch option similar to SpaceX\u2019s flight-proven reusable rocket Falcon 9 will play a key role in Beijing\u2019s plans to build up to 10,000 satellite constellations in the coming decades.<\/p>\n
\u201cFalcon 9 is a successful configuration that has been tested by engineering,\u201d Zhuque-3\u2019s deputy chief designer Dong Kai said in a podcast interview last week. \u201cAfter studying it, we recognise its rationality; this is learning, not imitation. Calling [Zhuque-3] a \u2018Chinese Falcon 9,\u2019 I think, is a very high compliment.\u201d <\/p>\n
Its start-up culture and mimicking of SpaceX has already initiated a paradigm shift in China\u2019s space industry. China\u2019s state-led space programme has historically been allergic to failed launches, in contrast to SpaceX and other Western firms that regularly broadcast their mishaps. But earlier this month state media covered China\u2019s first two failed attempts at recovering a reusable rocket, with the second launch coming from a state-owned firm, just three weeks after Zhuque-3\u2019s maiden flight. <\/p>\n
LandSpace also opened its engine factory floor to Reuters this month, allowing foreign media to take a peek at one of its core assets for the first time.<\/p>\n
After opening up the space sector to private money in 2014, which spawned several start-ups including LandSpace, Beijing is now looking to help leading domestic players tap into capital markets by making it easier for them to pursue IPOs.<\/p>\n
Dai said SpaceX\u2019s generous financial backing was a key factor in allowing the US firm to incur huge losses while testing Starship, its reusable launch vehicle.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor us, we\u2019re not yet able to do that,\u201d Dai told CCTV. \u201cI believe our country has recognised this, allowing capital markets to support companies [in areas] like commercial space flight.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018Starship in another league\u2019: Musk<\/p>\n
A month before LandSpace launched the Zhuque-3, SpaceX founder Musk had already taken note of the vehicle\u2019s design.<\/p>\n
Commenting on a video on X that showed Zhuque-3\u2019s assembly, he said the Chinese-made rocket had adopted aspects of the Starship spacecraft and applied them on a design similar to the Falcon 9.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey have added aspects of Starship, such as use of stainless steel and methalox, to a Falcon 9 architecture, which would enable it to beat Falcon 9,\u201d Musk said in October, in his first public comments about LandSpace. \u201cBut Starship in another league.\u201d<\/p>\n
Features like stainless steel sheaths and rocket engines powered by methalox, a combination of methane and liquid oxygen, are just some of the ways that companies like SpaceX and LandSpace are looking to reduce the enormous cost of launches. But by far the most important cost-saver is the ability to launch a rocket, then return, recover and reuse its engine-packed first stage.<\/p>\n
As LandSpace prepares another rocket launch after the December failure, when Zhuque-3\u2019s booster was not able to activate a landing burn 3km from the ground as planned, causing it to crash rather than execute a controlled landing, it may take comfort from SpaceX\u2019s experience. <\/p>\n
SpaceX had its first successful Falcon booster landing in 2015 after two failed attempts.<\/p>\n
Reuters<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"China\u2019s rocket start-up LandSpace has made no secret about drawing inspiration from Elon Musk\u2019s SpaceX. Earlier this month,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":208124,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[607,126965,516,1498,111,139,69,13650,147,392,1503,27399],"class_list":{"0":"post-208123","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-space","8":"tag-china","9":"tag-dong-kai","10":"tag-elon-musk","11":"tag-landspace","12":"tag-new-zealand","13":"tag-newzealand","14":"tag-nz","15":"tag-rocket","16":"tag-science","17":"tag-space","18":"tag-spacex","19":"tag-zhuque-3"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/208123","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=208123"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/208123\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/208124"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=208123"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=208123"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=208123"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}