China launched a space rocket from a high-altitude balloon

Chinese scientists reported that they managed to launch a rocket from a high-altitude balloon. This technology will significantly save the fuel needed to deliver cargo to near space. About it writes South China Morning Post.

The rocket was first lifted into the upper atmosphere in a large helium balloon from Lenghu in northwest China's Qinghai province on Sunday, according to Chinese state media.

When the balloon reached a predetermined height, the rocket was launched by remote control.

This test was the result of a close collaboration between the Institute of Atmospheric Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Beijing Xingjian Tianhang Space Technology. “This was the world's first significant technological breakthrough in the launch of this type of rocket,” said the company's CEO.

Missions with such a launch could make it easier to get atmospheric instruments, Earth observation devices and other useful scientific equipment to the desired height.

According to the media, launching rockets from a balloon is cheaper and even more effective than conventional launches. Such missions are the best suited for studying the so-called near space at an altitude of 20 to 100 km.

The first balloon launches took place as early as the 1950s, when American astrophysicist James Van Allen developed the idea of ​​Rockoons and used them to study the Earth's magnetosphere.