China’s critical third-stage rocket engine passes test for crewed moon mission
“It means China can now test liquid hydrogen-liquid oxygen engines for thousands of seconds … This will strongly support the implementation of the nation’s manned lunar exploration.”
The test rig was billed as the first of its kind in China and the largest in Asia when it was commissioned in May. Neither the academy nor a report by state broadcaster CCTV at the time mentioned where the facility is located.
According to the CCTV report in May, the test rig can simulate high-altitude vertical-flight conditions, including a vacuum environment with pressure under one kilopascal, over thousands of seconds at a time.
The Long March-10 will be able to lift 70 tonnes into low-Earth orbit and 27 tonnes into trans-lunar injection trajectories, according to its developers.
Its first stage is powered by seven YF-100K engines, which burn a combination of kerosene and liquid oxygen. With two boosters, each with their own set of seven YF-100K engines, the rocket will generate a massive 2,678 tonnes of thrust at lift-off.
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The rocket’s second stage consists of two YF-100M engines, which also burn kerosene and liquid oxygen, while the third and final stage will be powered by three YF-75E engines.
The Long March-10 rocket will be used in two launches for China’s mission to land astronauts on the moon. One will carry the Mengzhou spacecraft and its crew, while the other will launch the Lanyue landing craft.
The spacecraft will rendezvous and dock before the two astronauts transfer to the moon lander and head for the lunar surface, where they will drive a rover to carry out scientific investigations and collect rock samples.
Mission completed, the crew will return to the Lanyue and leave the moon’s surface to dock with the orbiting Mengzhou for the journey home.
Chinese space officials said in April that they were on track to meet the 2030 deadline, with manufacturing under way of prototype components for the mission, including the lunar landing suits for the astronauts, as well as the space vehicles.