China debuted the new Long March-8 – Chang Zheng-8 – launch vehicle out of Wenchang on Tuesday. This vehicle marks China’s move towards a reusable launch vehicle, with the recovery of the first stage and side boosters planned for a latter variant.
Loaded with a cargo of satellites, the first (Y1) Long March-8 (LM-8) was successfully launched at 04:37 UTC from the LC201 Launch Complex at the Wenchang Space Launch Center.
The LM-8 is developed by the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT), and its development aims to meet the demand for economical, medium-lift, high-frequency commercial missions.
The new launcher was first referenced in 2017. However, it was redesigned to feature recovery of its first stage and strap-on boosters. It is 50.34 meters high, with a diameter of 3.35 meters. Launch mass is 356,000 kg.
Featuring a 3.35 m core with two YF-100 engines inherited from the Long March-7, the new launch vehicle is fuelled by RP-1 and LOX. The first stage is 25.083 meters long. First stage can be augmented with two optional 2.25 meters diameter and 26.903 meters long liquid rocket boosters fuelled by RP-1 and LOX and a YF-100 engine.
The development of the YF-100 began in 2000 at the Academy of Aerospace Liquid Propulsion Technology. The engine was certified by the State Administration of Science, Technology, and Industry for National Defense (SASTIND) in May 2012.
It is a staged combustion cycle engine producing 1,199.19 kN at sea-level with a Isp of 2,942.0 N.s/kg (vacuum values are: thrust 1,339.48 kN; Isp 3,286.2 N.s/kg). The YF-100 will also be used on the CZ-5 and CZ-6 launch vehicles.
The second stage is a cryogenic (LH2 and LOX) powered by two YF-75 engines, inherited from the CZ-3, developing 167.17 kN and a specific impulse of 4,295 Ns/kg each. It is 12.375 meters long and 3.0 meters in diameter.
The LM-8 can launch a 5,000 kg cargo to an SSO 700 km orbit, an 8,400 kg cargo to LEO, or 2,800 kg to GTO.
In future missions, the first stage will be reusable (the LM-8R), which features powered vertical landing with deployable landing legs. The strap-on boosters will stay attached for landing.
CALT reveals the landing leg of CZ-8R before dynamics test in their latest paper. pic.twitter.com/y3GwSBaENB
— 星海 (@starmil_admin) October 2, 2020
Also, in the future, the LM-8 may be launched without the side boosters (the LM-8A version).
China Great Wall Industry Corporation (CGWIC), a subsidiary of China Aerospace Science & Technology Corporation (CASC), provided the launch services for five satellites aboard the first LM-8.
The main payload of this mission was the Xinjishu Yanzheng-7 (New Technology Verification-7) satellite. A similar payload was launched on the ill-fated inaugural launch of the Long March-7A.
Previously designated EthSat6U, the Ethiopian ET-SMART-RSS is a CubeSat-6U nanosatellite jointly developed by ESSTI and Chinese company Beijing Smart Satellite Technology (SMART). Its primary mission is to provide earth observation services to China and African countries, as well as strengthen collaboration between ESSTI and SMART.
The ESSTI team prepared the preliminary design of the satellite and then the critical design. Smart Satellite handled the manufacturing, assembly, integration and testing (MAIT) in close consultation with the ESSTI team. The satellite arrived at the launch site on November 26, 2020.
The remote sensing satellite is equipped with a micro-nano momentum wheel and wheel control chip components independently developed by Beijing Institute of Technology. The satellite data will serve remote sensing application markets in China and Ethiopia.
The satellite is jointly commercially named by Beijing Zhixing Aerospace Application Technology Research Institute and Beijing Aerospace Cloud Education Technology Co., Ltd., and will serve aerospace science education, agriculture, tourism, environmental monitoring and other fields. ET-SMART-RSS is also designated Zhixing-1A.
The Tianqi are low-orbit communications satellites operated by Guodian Gaoke for IoT communications, which are also carrying a camera for educational purposes.
The satellites are part of the “Apocalypse Constellation” that provides users with much-needed data collection and transmission services for terrestrial network coverage blind areas, which are widely used in marine, environmental protection, meteorological, forestry, geological, emergency, rescue and smart city industries to enhance China’s global data network coverage and application capabilities are of strategic importance.
Like the previous Tianqi satellites, launch mass of Tianqi-8 was around 8 kg.
The Haisi-1 satellite was jointly developed by the 38th China Electric Power Research Institute, the Tianyi Research Institute and other participants. The satellite’s research and development work started in June 2019.
Haisi-1 is the first test vehicle of the 200 kg-class, 1m resolution, C-band SAR remote sensing satellite based on active phased array antennas. The satellite will be used in marine scientific research and industry-university-research needs for remote sensing applications, and exploring new commercial aerospace models.
The Yuanguang satellite is a 20 kg vehicle for scientific experiments and belongs to SpaceTY Co., Ltd. (Changsha).
CGWIC is a commercial organization authorized by the Chinese government to provide commercial launch services, satellite systems, and space technology cooperation, with more than 30 years of experience. Under the guidance of CACS, CGWIC can provide fast, stable, and reliable “one-stop” quality services to both international and domestic customers.
Since the Long March launch vehicle entered the international market in 1990, CGWIC has completed 52 international commercial launches, launched 69 international commercial satellites, and delivered 11 communications satellites and 4 remote sensing satellites in orbit.
CGWIC has also provided 30 piggyback services to international and domestic customers, including 17 domestic piggyback launches, orbiting 44 domestic payloads, and 20 international piggyback launches, orbiting 27 international payloads.
Wenchang Space Launch Centre is located in the northeast corner of Hainan Island on China’s southern coast.
The center is equipped with two launch complexes. Launch Complex LC101 is used for the Long March-5 launch vehicle family, while Launch Complex LC201 is used for the Long March-7 launch vehicle.
Both pads are similar and are equipped with a fixed umbilical tower, underground flame deflector trenches, and ducts. Like what happens at the other Chinese launch centers, the umbilical towers have swing arms to allow technicians to access and inspect the launch vehicle and payload.
The launch pads are served by two vehicle assembly and integration buildings. Launch Complex LC101 is served by Building 501, while Launch Complex LC201 is served by Building 502. Each building is 99.4 meters tall, permitting the launch vehicle’s assembly and testing in a full, vertical stacked position.
This is a new approach to the launch vehicle preparation for flight because, at the other Chinese launch centers, the launchers are stacked and tested for flight at the launch platforms.
After being stacked at the vehicle assembly and integration building at the top of a mobile launch platform, the rocket is rolled to the launch pad.
The journey takes several minutes to cover the 2,800 meters separating the vehicle assembly and integration buildings and the launch pads.
After arriving at the launch pads, the mobile structure is then placed above the flame trench. The necessary umbilical connections between the fixed structures and the mobile platform are established ahead of the flow to launch.
The new launch complex provides additional versatility that isn’t available at the other three launch sites. Wencheng also allows for an increase in performance for the launch vehicles gained from Earth’s rotational because it is closer to the Earth equator. This reduces the amount of propellants required for the satellite’s maneuvers from the transit orbit to GEO.
The launch vehicle can also fly from the launch site to the southeast direction into the South Pacific, avoiding the possibility of rocket debris falling into any populated area – which has occurred during numerous Chinese launches.
China plans to launch four crewed spacecraft as part of its space station construction program in the next two years, with a total of 11 missions to build China’s space station.
The launches include the construction of the core module scheduled to be launched in the first half of next year, two lab capsules, four crewed craft, and four cargo craft.