China makes a significant breakthrough in reusable launch vehicle engine technology, ready for delivery from its commercial space sector.

BEIJING, June 30 (Bernama-Xinhua) — Chinese commercial space company CAS Space has successfully completed a long-duration qualification test for the Kinecore-2, a 110-tonne-thrust liquid oxygen/kerosene engine designed to power the reusable variant of its Kinetica-2, or Lijian-2 launch vehicle, Xinhua reported. The recently conducted test pushed the engine’s burn time to 620 seconds, approximately 3.5 times the actual flight duration requirement. A single ignition lasted 400 seconds, setting a new stability record for the engine model, the Guangzhou-based rocket developer told China Media Group (CMG) on Tuesday. The engine is designed to serve as the primary propulsion system for the […]