The launch vehicle flies over the sea in Haiyang, Yantai City, east China's Shandong Province. /CAS Space
A Beijing-based rocket company owned by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), CAS Space, said it conducted successful vertical landing tests of a launch vehicle at sea in Haiyang, a county-level city in Yantai City, east China's Shandong Province.
The commercial space company said it verified a number of key technologies, which will be mainly used for application recovery, including near-space scientific experiment platforms, orbital rocket and space travel vehicles.
With a total length of 2.1 meters and a diameter of 0.5 meters, the 93 kilogram launch vehicle was propelled by two turbojet engines with a maximum thrust of 550 newtons, the company told CGTN.
The launch vehicle lands on the ship in Haiyang, a county-level city in Yantai City, east China's Shandong Province. /CAS Space
The test flight simulated and verified rocket launch from land and its landing at sea, focusing on its landing process and the communication and relative measurement technologies impacted by sea clutter, said the company.
The launch vehicle reached a maximum altitude of over 1,000 meters, where it hovered for a while before adjusting its position and descending. Thanks to the engine's reverse, its speed reduced below 2 meters per second when approaching the landing platform at sea, before a soft landing within 10 meters of target point.
The CAS Space said it also verified several high-precision guidance and control technologies for the vertical return of the launch vehicle. It also successfully conducted its vertical landing on land.