China successfully lands a rocket in the sea

Chinese commercial space company CAS Space reported about the successful vertical landing of a rocket in the sea. The test took place in Haiyan (east China).

During the 10-minute test, the rocket prototype rose to a height of more than a kilometer, then smoothly descended and froze due to the reverse thrust of the engine. At the last stage, the landing speed was less than 2 m/s, the landing accuracy was 10 meters.

The prototype in question is a 2.1-meter rocket with a diameter of about half a meter and a weight of 93 kg. It is equipped with two engines with a thrust of 550 N each. During testing, a turbojet engine was used to simulate a variable-thrust liquid-propellant rocket engine used in vertical landing.

SpaceX made a vertical landing of a Falcon 9 rocket on a floating platform in the Atlantic Ocean in 2016. Russia is currently developing the Amur-SPG rocket, which will be able to perform a vertical landing.