China shows privately developed reusable space rocket Hyperbola-2
The Chinese private space developer i-Space has, following the American SpaceX of Teslabaas Elon Musk, presented a reusable rocket. A model of the Hyperbola-2 was shown at a technology fair in Beijing last week. The rocket will be launched for the first time in 2021.
The Hyperbola-2 will use a mixture of liquid oxygen and methane as fuel, just like the Raptor engine that SpaceX is working on for the Starship spacecraft. Traditional rocket engines use a combination of liquid oxygen and hydrogen or liquid oxygen and kerosene.
The rocket, successor to the successful Hyperbola-1
The first stage of the rocket can be reused, reducing the production costs of the vehicle by 70 percent, said Dong Yanmin, head of technology.
China is filling a gap in the space program with the development of the Hyperbola-2. The country does not yet have reusable rockets, and there is a growing demand for small and medium satellite launch options, Dong said. The rocket must become cheap and reliable.
A first model of the Hyperbola-2 was shown at the Zhongguancun Forum 2019 tech fair in the Chinese capital. The 28-meter long rocket, with a launch weight of 90 tons, can bring commercial loads up to a weight of 1900 kilos into a low orbit.