Beijing Zhongke Aerospace Exploration Technology Co., Ltd. is the first domestic aerospace enterprise with mixed ownership, and it is also the target enterprise that Oriental Aerospace Port focuses on introducing. Relying on the scientific research strength and resource advantages of the Institute of Mechanics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Aerospace Flight Technology Center of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, China Aerospace Science and Technology has been committed to the research and development and integration of space technology and aerospace vehicles as a platform for the transformation of major national scientific research projects, as well as the transformation and provision of technological achievements. Aerospace launch service. The Lijian-1 rocket project also adds a brand-new name card to the Oriental Space Port, which will surely promote the construction of the Oriental Space Port to take a solid step forward.
Zhongke Aerospace January 2023 ……..This year Zhongke Aerospace will launch 3 Lijian No. 1 中科空空航空’s Lijian No. 1 solid launch vehicle successfully made its first flight on July 27, 2022. The first flight carried 6 satellites with an uplink load of 1068.63kg. The weight of the satellite is 899kg. After three launches planned for 2023, the arrow will become a full-fledged model.
At present, the annual production capacity of Lijian-1 has reached 30 pieces. As the largest domestic and world-leading solid launch vehicle model, the biggest feature of Lijian-1 is the use of large solid rocket motors, especially 10 of which can be pre-stored at the exclusive launch station of the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. The load can be quickly approached and combined quickly, fully meeting the needs of users for rapid launch.
Lijian-1 has a carrying capacity of 1.5 tons in 500-kilometer sun-synchronous orbit and 2 tons in low-orbit, which can meet the hot demand in the international launch service market, including low-orbit high-resolution remote sensing satellites, low-orbit broadband communication constellations, Internet of Things constellations and The launch of numerous scientific experiment payloads. The first flight of the Lijian-1 rocket sent six satellites into the predetermined orbit, and verified more than 40 new technologies from 25 institutes of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, which is of great significance for promoting the progress of satellite technology.
In addition, through optimized design, Lijian-1 has achieved a load ratio close to 1%, reaching the world’s leading level, and effectively reducing the cost of entering orbit for users.
Zhongke Aerospace is developing a new generation of sea launch platform, which will form an annual launch capability of 20 times in the future. The sea launch can flexibly choose the best orbital position, shorten the delivery time to the greatest extent, and make full use of the rocket capacity
[Zhongke Aerospace Lijian-1A has been shortlisted as an alternative rocket for space station transportation, and it will develop a 10-ton reusable CBC rocket] In addition to the active Lijian-1, the product lineage of Zhongke Aerospace also includes Lijian-1 There are 6 types of products including A solid rocket, Lijian 2 liquid rocket, Lijian 3 series liquid rocket, space tourism vehicle and near space recyclable scientific experiment platform.
Its launch service planning has the following characteristics:
1) Strong carrying capacity, covering 1~15 tons;
2 (The service model is flexible, and can provide batch packaging, carpool launch, whole rocket launch and piggyback launch services;
3) The mission mode covers the entire range, with exclusive land-based and sea-based launch stations, which can be applied to multiple application scenarios such as low-orbit constellation networking, space station cargo transportation, high-orbit launch, near-space scientific experiments, and suborbital tourism;
4) High cost performance. Through a series of technological innovations and mass production, including recycling, intelligent launch and intelligent flight, etc., the launch cost has been greatly reduced, and the launch cost of a one-time launch vehicle is 60,000 yuan per kilogram, which can be reused later. The cost of liquid launch vehicles reached RMB 30,000 per kilogram, which is on par with world-class aerospace companies such as SpaceX.
On the basis of Lijian-1, Zhongke Aerospace is developing a general-purpose core-level bundled solid launch vehicle for Lijian-1. By bundling four cores and replacing them with a third stage with a larger diameter, the low-orbit The ability to launch large mass loads, with a carrying capacity of 5.6 tons in a 500-kilometer sun-synchronous orbit and 8 tons in a low-Earth orbit, ranks among the ranks of large rockets and can be used for large-scale satellite launches or cost-effective deployment of low-orbit constellations, and can also be used to launch space station cargo spacecraft . Shi Xiaoning revealed that the Lijian-1A solid launch vehicle has been shortlisted as an alternative launch vehicle for my country’s space station transportation.
At the same time, this type of rocket utilizes the mature power and avionics system technology of Lijian-1, and can further reduce the launch cost through integration and mass production of mature modules, and has better cost performance while achieving large carrying capacity.
Lijian-2 is the first liquid launch vehicle under development by Zhongke Aerospace. This model adopts the classic core stage diameter of Chinese rockets – 3.35 meters. Both stages are powered by 20-ton “Xuanyuan No. 1” liquid oxygen kerosene engines. It is a low-temperature small intelligent launch vehicle with a carrying capacity of 500 kilometers. Synchronous orbit 2.2 tons.
Lijian-2 will further improve rocket reliability and reduce user costs through integration and intelligence. This model adopts a large number of advanced rocket manufacturing and control technologies, including mature industrial materials, standard parts and 3D printing technology; it realizes a high level of comprehensive management of rocket information, and has intelligent launch and intelligence through autonomous fault identification and reconstruction on the rocket. Flight capability; the launch system and measurement and control system are integrated and miniaturized, and have the ability to launch with one button. These measures not only reduce the manufacturing cost of the rocket, but also effectively control the cost of rocket launch and flight control. Taking into account the 1.08% load factor, the cost of payload launch will be further reduced, approaching the international advanced level, and become an international and domestic rocket with high cost performance…… One of the medium launch vehicles.
The main rockets in the long-term planning of Zhongke Aerospace are the reusable liquid rockets Lijian-3 and Lijian-3 heavy.
The Lijian-3 carrier rocket has a three-stage series structure. Both the first and second stages use the “Xuanyuan II” 80-ton reusable liquid oxygen kerosene engine, which has the ability to recover and reuse the first stage, and has a 500-kilometer sun-synchronous orbit. With a carrying capacity of 6.1 tons (first-level recovery) and 7.8 tons (first-level non-recovery), it is a mainstream large launch vehicle in the international launch service market. Especially after being equipped with a high-performance upper stage, it can adapt to high-orbit launch missions and provide users with richer and more diverse orbit entry solutions.
On the basis of Lijian-3, the Lijian-3 heavy-duty rocket is bundled with two reusable core stages, all three core stages can be recycled and reused, and can realize a 500-kilometer sun-synchronous orbit with a carrying capacity of 10.5 tons (one-stage recycling ) and 13.8 tons (one-level non-recycling), realizing the vision of Zhongke Aerospace “sending 10 tons of payload into low-Earth orbit space in ten years”. This model can not only meet the launch and deployment requirements of large satellites and large-scale constellations, but can also be used to launch Earth-Moon orbiters. Similar rockets are scarce products in the international launch service market. Possibilities abound.
In addition, Zhongke Aerospace also plans to develop two suborbital vehicles, each of which is oriented to different market needs.
One is the recyclable scientific experiment platform in near space, which adopts the liquid rocket reusable technology, can send the scientific instrument module into the orbit at an altitude of 120-300 kilometers, and provide long-stay (150-450 seconds), high-level micro Gravity science experiment environment. The flight cost of this type of platform is much lower than that of the space station, but the flight opportunities are much more abundant. Opportunities for scientific experiments such as biology. This year, the basic model of the aircraft will be available and complete its first flight.
The utility model relates to an aircraft for space tourism, which adopts a combined mode of a single-stage rocket and a tourist capsule. In order to carry the tourist capsule across the Karman Line, the rocket is equipped with five 15-ton liquid oxygen kerosene engines with a carrying capacity of two tons. The actual number of passengers on the aircraft can reach up to 7 people. Passengers can cross the Karman Line at an altitude of 100km in a 10-minute flight, experience the weightlessness of getting rid of the gravity of the earth for 3 minutes, and overlook the earth and the stars through the portholes. In 2025, China is expected to start space travel, with a ticket price of 2 to 3 million yuan….
Translated from Zhongke Aerospace –CASSPace Article on 10th January 2023..
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