Bloomberg reported on September 11, original title: China wants to replace Jeff Bezos and become Musk’s biggest space challengeChina is working hard to change Musk's control of reusable launch vehicles and close the huge technology gap with the United States. Beijing is turning to space startups and state-owned companies as it aims to exploit the advantages of rockets that can be used dozens of times to launch satellites into low-Earth orbit.
Blue Arrow Aerospace is one of the companies working hard to meet the challenge. The company's "Zhuque-3" reusable rocket successfully completed a 10-kilometer vertical take-off, landing and return flight test at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center this week. This marks a major breakthrough in China's commercial aerospace field and is a key step towards realizing large-capacity, low-cost, high-frequency, and reusable space launches in the future. Another Chinese company eager to take the plunge is Deep Blue Aerospace. The company plans to test a reusable rocket as early as this week. If successful, it will mean a step closer to regular launch services provided by SpaceX's reusable "Falcon 9" rocket.
In the field of aerospace, China is on par with the United States and has landed on the moon and Mars many times, but it has not kept pace in developing reusable rockets. In fact, most Asian, European countries and Russian spacecraft also rely on disposable launch vehicles, giving SpaceX a near monopoly on the global market. Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin is close to success (breaking SpaceX's monopoly) with its reusable New Shepard rocket.
SpaceX reuses rocket boosters, allowing it to provide rapid launches at a lower cost. Reusable rockets give the United States a huge cost advantage over single-use rockets. Chinese companies say they are on the verge of a sustainable breakthrough, with Deep Blue's Nebula-1 rocket or a similar rocket prototype under development. Like dominance in many other fields, mass production of rockets is also a goal for China to conquer. Chinese companies must not only compete with SpaceX, but also defeat it. "Once China's reusable rocket comes out, it will cost significantly less than Falcon 9," said Carter Palmer, principal analyst for space systems at Connecticut-based Aerospace & Defense Market Research. But even if China's rocket makers are successful in initial test flights, rapid deployment of reusable rockets will still take time.
For China, this is a matter of national pride and national security. The Chinese government wants a robust commercial space industry that can meet domestic needs while competing with the United States for global customers and influence. Beijing also hopes to compete with SpaceX's increasingly popular "Starlink" system. Peter Garretton, senior fellow for defense studies at the U.S. Foreign Policy Council, said reusable (launch vehicles) are absolutely key to China’s space economic development plans.
Blue Arrow and Deep Blue are just two of a number of Chinese companies vying to emulate Musk's lead in developing reusable rockets. To be sure, China's strong financial resources are driving the development of the aerospace industry. (Translated by Qiao Heng)
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