China tests rockets and lunar ships

Experts conducted a launch abort test with the new generation Mong Chau ship and demonstrated the Long March 10 rocket at low altitude at the Wenchang Space Launch Center, Hainan Island, on February 11. The China Manned Space Engineering Office said both vehicles functioned as designed. The test plan was established by the China Manned Space Agency in October last year, aiming to send people to the Moon as early as 2030.

In the test, Mong Chau mounted on top of Truong Chinh 10 flew to a height of about 10 km after one minute of launch. When it reaches maximum dynamic pressure (Max-Q), the ship separates itself from the booster to test the ability to get the crew to escape in case of an incident that requires aborting the mission. When descending to a height of about 8 km, three parachutes with a total area of ​​more than 2,400 m2 opened, helping the train decelerate from 80 m/s to less than 10 m/s. The ship then landed gently at the designated location off the coast of Hainan Island.

The test also marked the first flight of the Long March 10 at low altitude. The rocket consists of three and a half stages, is more than 90 meters high and generates about 2,700 tons of take-off thrust. Currently, this is China’s largest and only launch vehicle capable of delivering both a human carrier and a lander to a lunar transfer orbit.

The first floor of Truong Chinh 10 is designed for reuse. On February 11, this stage adjusted itself and landed vertically into the sea after Mong Chau separated. Long March 10 is still in the development phase, so a successful landing is an important milestone toward the goal of future recovery and reuse.

Many space experts believe that China has a chance to win the race to return humans to the surface of the Moon. NASA aims to send astronauts to this celestial body in 2028 in the Artemis 3 mission, landing with an improved version of the Starship built by SpaceX. However, it is unclear whether the mission can take place on time or not. The launch schedule depends heavily on the success of Artemis 2, the mission to fly a crew around the Moon scheduled to launch next month.