The floodgates are open after another Chinese company lands a reusable rocket
The floodgates are open after another Chinese company lands a reusable rocket
继另一家中国公司成功回收可重复使用火箭后，行业大门已然洞开
It has been a little more than a month since China recovered an orbital-class rocket booster for the first time. A second launch operator accomplished a similar feat Tuesday in another sign of China’s growing launch capability. 距离中国首次回收轨道级火箭助推器仅过去了一个多月。周二，第二家发射运营商完成了类似的壮举，这再次彰显了中国日益增长的航天发射能力。
It took 10 years for a second US launch company, Blue Origin, to propulsively land an orbital-class booster after SpaceX did it with the Falcon 9 rocket in 2015. SpaceX has since added a second reusable rocket to its fleet with Starship and its Super Heavy booster. Perhaps a third American company will join SpaceX and Blue Origin’s club in 2027. Rocket Lab, Stoke Space, Relativity Space, and Firefly Aerospace—working in partnership with Northrop Grumman—are working on reusable rockets that could make their first flights in the next couple of years. 在 SpaceX 于 2015 年利用“猎鹰 9 号”（Falcon 9）火箭实现轨道级助推器垂直回收后，美国第二家发射公司蓝色起源（Blue Origin）耗时 10 年才完成了同样的壮举。此后，SpaceX 又凭借“星舰”（Starship）及其“超重型”（Super Heavy）助推器，将其机队中的可重复使用火箭增加到了两款。或许在 2027 年，会有第三家美国公司加入 SpaceX 和蓝色起源的行列。火箭实验室（Rocket Lab）、Stoke Space、相对论空间（Relativity Space）以及与诺斯罗普·格鲁曼公司（Northrop Grumman）合作的萤火虫航天（Firefly Aerospace）都在研发可重复使用火箭，这些火箭有望在未来几年内进行首飞。
A similar number of launch companies are working on reusable rockets in China. Some of them operate under the auspices of the sprawling state-owned China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC). Others are more commercial in nature, driven by capital investment from private industry. 中国也有数量相当的发射公司正在研发可重复使用火箭。其中一些公司在庞大的国有企业——中国航天科技集团（CASC）的指导下运营。另一些则更具商业性质，由私营行业的资本投资驱动。
After years of development, these Chinese launch companies made their first attempts to land their new rocket boosters last December. A company named LandSpace was first when it launched the first test flight of its new Zhuque-3 rocket. The rocket successfully reached orbit but missed its landing. Later that month, CASC’s Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology launched a new rocket named the Long March 12A with similar results. 经过多年的研发，这些中国发射公司于去年 12 月首次尝试回收其新型火箭助推器。蓝箭航天（LandSpace）率先进行了其新型“朱雀三号”（Zhuque-3）火箭的首次试飞。该火箭成功进入轨道，但在着陆时失败。同月晚些时候，中国航天科技集团旗下的上海航天技术研究院发射了名为“长征十二号甲”（Long March 12A）的新型火箭，结果也类似。
Then, a third rocket, the Long March 10B from another CASC division, became the first to achieve a successful booster recovery July 10. The Long March 10B’s first stage was caught by a net recovery mechanism on an offshore platform in the South China Sea. Now, 40 days later, LandSpace’s Zhuque-3 has flown again, this time on a flight punctuated by a picture-perfect landing of its first-stage booster in northwestern China. 随后，来自中国航天科技集团另一部门的第三枚火箭——“长征十号乙”（Long March 10B），于 7 月 10 日成为首个实现助推器成功回收的型号。长征十号乙的一级助推器在南海的一个海上平台上被网捕回收装置捕获。如今，40 天过去了，蓝箭航天的“朱雀三号”再次升空，并以其一级助推器在中国西北部完美着陆，为此次飞行画上了圆满句号。
Landing from space
从太空着陆
The Zhuque-3, or ZQ-3, rocket lifted off from a commercial launch zone at China’s Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center at 7:35 pm EDT (23:35 UTC) Tuesday, about an hour after sunrise Wednesday at the spaceport in the Gobi Desert. Nine methane-fueled engines powered the 216-foot-tall (66-meter) rocket on a course southeast from Jiuquan, then the rocket’s upper stage took over the task of placing a single satellite into orbit. “朱雀三号”（ZQ-3）火箭于周二美国东部时间晚上 7:35（协调世界时 23:35）从中国酒泉卫星发射中心的商业发射区升空，当时戈壁沙漠的航天港正值周三日出后约一小时。九台甲烷发动机驱动着这枚 216 英尺（66 米）高的火箭从酒泉向东南方向飞行，随后火箭上面级接管任务，将一颗卫星送入轨道。
The rocket’s first stage, made of stainless steel, soared to the edge of space, then maneuvered toward a prepared landing zone some 240 miles (390 kilometers) downrange, settling to a propulsive touchdown on four extendable landing legs. LandSpace, founded in 2015, declared the mission a total success. 该火箭由不锈钢制成的一级助推器飞抵太空边缘，随后机动飞向约 240 英里（390 公里）外的预定着陆区，依靠四条可伸缩着陆腿实现了垂直着陆。成立于 2015 年的蓝箭航天宣布此次任务取得圆满成功。
“This mission marks China’s first-ever successful recovery attempt of the first stage of an orbital-class launch vehicle using landing legs, and China’s first successful booster recovery on land,” LandSpace said in a statement. “It is a pivotal flight test for Zhuque-3 as it transitions from the technological demonstration and verification phase toward the engineering application phase of reusability.” 蓝箭航天在声明中表示：“此次任务标志着中国首次成功实现轨道级运载火箭一级助推器着陆腿回收，也是中国首次在陆地上成功回收助推器。对于‘朱雀三号’而言，这是一次关键的飞行试验，标志着其从技术演示验证阶段向可重复使用的工程应用阶段过渡。”
LandSpace’s engineers made several changes to the rocket after the crash landing of the first Zhuque-3 booster in December. The updates included using just a single engine for the final phase of landing and modifications to the rocket’s heat shield for protection from reentry conditions. 在去年 12 月首枚“朱雀三号”助推器着陆坠毁后，蓝箭航天的工程师对火箭进行了多项改进。更新内容包括在着陆最后阶段仅使用单台发动机，并对火箭的隔热罩进行了改造，以抵御再入大气层时的极端环境。
“This mission lays a solid foundation for subsequent stages, including post-recovery inspection and maintenance, reuse flights, and commercial applications,” LandSpace said. 蓝箭航天表示：“此次任务为后续阶段奠定了坚实基础，包括回收后的检查与维护、重复飞行以及商业应用。”
“The first stage underwent high-altitude gliding, followed by ignition for deceleration upon re-entry, aerodynamic glide control, and finally, a landing burn to slow down,” Dai Zheng, head of the Zhuque-3 project at LandSpace, told Chinese state television. “That final braking maneuver was executed beautifully, achieving a soft landing and realizing our original design goal of a ‘one-shot reverse-parking’ maneuver while moving at high speed. Our team will immediately begin inspecting the recovered first-stage booster. We will collect status data and perform maintenance and overhauls. Once that work is complete, we will put the booster back into service for another flight as soon as possible.” 蓝箭航天“朱雀三号”项目负责人戴政在接受中国中央电视台采访时表示：“一级助推器经历了高空滑行，随后在再入时点火减速、进行气动滑行控制，最后通过着陆反推减速。最后的制动动作执行得非常漂亮，实现了软着陆，达成了我们最初设计的‘高速运动中一次性反向泊车’的设计目标。我们的团队将立即开始检查回收的一级助推器。我们将收集状态数据并进行维护和检修。一旦工作完成，我们将尽快让该助推器重新投入使用，进行下一次飞行。”
The Zhuque-3’s basic design can place a payload of more than 17,600 pounds (8 metric tons) into low-Earth orbit after accounting for the fuel reserves required for booster recovery. LandSpace eventually plans to debut an upgraded Zhuque-3 carrying more propellant and using more powerful engines, raising its payload capacity to more than 40,000 pounds (18.3 metric tons) in reusable mode or a few tons more with an expendable booster. 在预留助推器回收所需燃料后，“朱雀三号”的基本设计可将超过 17,600 磅（8 公吨）的载荷送入近地轨道。蓝箭航天最终计划推出升级版的“朱雀三号”，该版本将携带更多推进剂并使用动力更强的发动机，在可重复使用模式下，其载荷能力将提升至超过 40,000 磅（18.3 公吨），若作为一次性火箭使用，载荷能力还将增加几吨。
The Zhuque-3 builds on LandSpace’s earlier work on a smaller rocket named the Zhuque-2, which became the world’s first methane-fueled launcher to reach orbit in 2023. The Zhuque-3 booster bears a striking resemblance to SpaceX’s Falcon 9, with grid fins and landing legs. The Falcon 9 uses kerosene fuel, while the Zhuque-3 uses methane. “朱雀三号”是在蓝箭航天早期研发的小型火箭“朱雀二号”（Zhuque-2）基础上打造的，后者在 2023 年成为全球首枚进入轨道的甲烷燃料运载火箭。“朱雀三号”助推器与 SpaceX 的“猎鹰 9 号”惊人地相似，都配备了栅格舵和着陆腿。不同之处在于，“猎鹰 9 号”使用煤油燃料，而“朱雀三号”使用甲烷。
Second mover
后发先至
China’s rocket companies still have some work to do to demonstrate booster turnaround and reuse. The Long March 10B booster recovered last month is supposed to fly again before the end of the year, according to CASC. LandSpace did not immediately say when it might reuse the Zhuque-3. 中国的火箭公司在证明助推器的周转和重复使用方面仍有工作要做。据中国航天科技集团称，上个月回收的“长征十号乙”助推器预计将在今年年底前再次飞行。蓝箭航天尚未立即说明何时会重复使用“朱雀三号”。