深蓝航天 Deep Blue Limited – Deep Blue Aerospace One of sixty Chinese private space Carrier Rocket Companies in China-People’s Republic of China… As many of sixty plus Private Rocket Deep Blue Aerospace Co., Ltd. was established in 2017. The company is mainly a high-tech aerospace enterprise that focuses on the direction of liquid recovery and reusable launch vehicles and provides users with commercial launch services. Deep Blue Aerospace Co., Ltd. is headquartered in Nantong City, Jiangsu Province. At the same time, the company has rocket general and liquid engine R&D centers in Yizhuang, Beijing and Xi’an, Shaanxi, respectively, and a rocket power system test base in Tongchuan, Shaanxi…..
In June 2023, the reusable engine “Thunder-R1” independently developed by Deepblue Aerospace achieved a complete success in the test run of the vertical test bench newly put into use by Deepblue Aerospace. The same “Thunder-R1” engine used in this round of tests has been tested several times for the whole machine and system, as well as dozens of start-up tests and ignition tests under different working conditions, which once again highlights the superiority of the “Thunder-R1” engine’s reusability performance and stability.
The current round of “Thunder-R1” engine and subsequent series of tests will accumulate a large amount of data for the power system test run, and will also be the first high-altitude vertical recovery flight test of the first sub-stage of the “Xingyun-1” rocket, and the first stage of orbit + recovery. Fly on a solid foundation. In the follow-up, the test station will continue to carry out the normalized test run assessment of the engine to ensure the smooth implementation of the vertical recovery test of the first sub-stage of the “Xingyun-1” rocket.
Deep Blue Aerospace’s new power test base has been put into use , and the advantages of the new test stand are prominent. “Thunder-R1” engine test live highlights. The performance of the assembly and other components has been improved, and a series of important optimization improvements have been made in the layout of the final assembly, creating a more solid power foundation for the vertical recovery and reuse of the rocket. During the test run, the engine was ignited, started, and shut down according to the predetermined procedures. The test process was in good condition, the measurement parameters were complete and accurate, and all indicators met the design requirements.
The whole machine test run is an important means to assess the coordination of the various components of the engine and to obtain the working parameters of the engine in simulated real working conditions. This round of complete machine test run is the test bench test run of the new test bench of Shenlan Aerospace’s new power test base. Combining the completed components and semi-system test bench test run, the success of the test bench test marks the first vertical test bench of Deep Blue Aerospace. It has the ability to test the whole process of rocket engine development, which is an important milestone in the construction of the power test base.
The new power test base is put into use, and the advantages of the new test stand are highlighted
The engine products in this round of tests have fully inherited the scheme of multiple starts, ignition and shutdown, and have improved the performance of turbo pumps, combustion devices and other components. Repeated use creates a more solid power base. During the test run, the engine was ignited, started, and shut down according to the predetermined procedures. The test process was in good condition, the measurement parameters were complete and accurate, and all indicators met the design requirements.
Live highlights of deep blue aerospace “Thunder-R1” engine test run from April to June 2023
The test run of the whole machine is an important means to assess the coordination of the various components of the engine and to obtain the working parameters of the engine in simulated real working conditions. This round of complete machine test run is the test bench test run of the new test bench of Shenlan Aerospace’s new power test base. Combining the completed components and semi-system test bench test run, the success of the test bench test marks the first vertical test bench of Deep Blue Aerospace. It has the ability to test the whole process of rocket engine development, which is an important milestone in the construction of the power test base.
The new version of the engine is tested and the new flight is ready to race against time
” Thunder-R1″ reusable engine is the first open-cycle liquid oxygen kerosene pintle engine in China, with a thrust adjustment capability of 30%~110%, following the principle of “redundant power system, industrialized low-cost manufacturing”, The “9+1” mode is adopted, that is, the first sub-stage of the rocket is connected with 9 basic engines in parallel, and the second sub-stage is equipped with a vacuum type engine, so as to send the payload of the rocket into the predetermined orbit and realize the vertical recovery of the first sub-stage.
In terms of general assembly layout, the new version of the “Thunder-R1” engine adopts the “pump back swing” method, which greatly reduces the engine swing moment in terms of swing angle and flexibility, significantly reduces the envelope size, and makes the layout more compact. The main components including combustion devices, turbo pumps, valves, etc. are all independently developed. The key components of the engine, such as thrust chambers, gas generators, turbo pumps, and large-diameter conduits, are manufactured using 3D printing additive manufacturing technology, which greatly reduces the number of engine components and effectively controls the influence of human factors in the production process, shortening the production process. the production cycle.
Through the bold use of new processes and adoption of new technologies, Deep Blue Aerospace has established a mass rapid production capacity of liquid rocket engines based on its own characteristics, and has achieved rapid iteration through continuous testing to feed back design and optimization improvements. It is the goal of Deep Blue Aerospace to establish a high-reliability, low-cost, and reusable liquid oxygen kerosene engine design, manufacturing, and testing of the entire process, which can effectively support the high-frequency, low-cost large-scale commercialization of launch vehicles. .
Next, Deep Blue Aerospace will carry out a series of tests such as the three-time ignition of the “Thunder-R1” engine, working condition deviation, and reliability verification, as well as a high-altitude vertical recovery flight test of the first sub-stage of the “Xingyun-1” rocket.
Images and visuals are from their Respectives.
