China showcases new Moon ship and reusable rocket in one extraordinary test

"Mengzhou, which means "dream vessel" in Chinese, is scheduled for its first orbital test flight later this year."

"CASC said the recovery of the Long March 10 booster after the in-flight abort test lays the foundation for "subsequent full-profile flight tests" and marks a "significant step" for China in "mastering reusable rocket technology.""

""The flight test further evaluated several key technologies, including the reliability of multiple engine restarts and high-altitude ignition during the rocket's reentry phase, adaptability to complex force and thermal environments, and high-precision navigation control during the reentry phase.""

"No fewer than 10 Chinese companies are working on reusable rockets at different levels of maturity, all seeking to match the success of SpaceX's reusable rocket program in the United States."

Mengzhou, meaning "dream vessel" in Chinese, is scheduled for its first orbital test flight later this year aboard a Long March 10A rocket and will dock with China's Tiangong space station in low-Earth orbit. The Long March 10A uses a single reusable first-stage booster combined with an upper stage. The full-size Long March 10 will pair three first-stage boosters with 21 engines to place up to 70 metric tons into low-Earth orbit and to send a 26-metric-ton Mengzhou to the Moon. CASC reported that recovery of a Long March 10 booster after an in-flight abort test supports mastering reusable rocket technology and validated multiple engine restarts, high-altitude ignition during reentry, adaptability to complex force and thermal environments, and high-precision navigation control during reentry. Multiple Chinese companies are advancing reusable-rocket efforts, and December launches included recoverable boosters on the Zhuque-3 and Long March 12A rockets.

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