Cosmoleap tests rocket recovery tower
Cosmoleap is making progress on its tower recovery system ahead of a 2025 debut flight.
Just over five months ago, Cosmoleap emerged onto the reusable rocket scene with intentions to use a catch tower to retrieve the first stage of its partially reusable launch vehicle. This rocket, believed to be named Leap (跃迁一号), is currently planned to fly for the first time in 2025.
In recent weeks Cosmoleap has been testing hardware needed for first-stage recovery. On November 10th, the company released footage of its prototype catch tower performing what it called a ‘lifting test’. This test had two arms move up and down the prototype tower, demonstrating that the pulley system could support and lift the weight of the catch arms.
A month later on December 10th, Cosmoleap shared a single image of the catch tower, this time lifting an inert pathfinder with the tower’s arms. No details about the pathfinder were shared but it is likely four meters in diameter based on previously released details. Some impact-damping sections or rudimentary lifting hardware was present for the test.
This prototype catch tower wasn’t built where the company plans to recover boosters, and instead was picked as somewhere where hardware testing and iteration can quickly be conducted.
Few details about the catch tower have been shared in the months since Cosmoleap’s public appearance, but the English version of their website states the following:
“The Leap rocket adopts a tower recovery scheme to eliminate landing legs, reduce weight and improve the carrying energy gate. Reduce landing impact load and prolong service life; Avoid the reflection and ablation of engine jets when the rocket approaches the ground; Reduce the electrical equipment and sensors on the rocket, reduce the test content and compress the test cycle.”
◆ Design and manufacture of tower structure and recovery arm structure
◆ High dynamic fast response hydraulic system
◆ Automatic motion control system
◆ High-precision approach identification and positioning system
The Chinese version of Cosmoleap’s website is currently partially broken.
December 10th also had Cosmoleap share that Leap (跃迁一号) passed a design review. This design review was conducted by eleven industry experts and part of Cosmoleap’s own team, the decision was stated as being unanimous. The company thanked the experts in an official blog post saying:
“We are grateful for the unanimous recognition of the evaluation experts and the strong support of our shareholders. In the future, Cosmoleap will continue to iterate and consolidate details in the engineering stage to ensure the success of the first flight.”
If there are any problems with this translation please reach out and correct me.
What else has Cosmoleap been up to?
Back in October, Cosmoleap held its first presentation in front of an international audience at the 75th International Astronautical Congress in Milan, Italy. A few details about this presentation were shared online by the congress.
These details stated that each of Leap’s boosters would be reused as many as twenty times, both stages of the vehicle would use liquid oxygen and liquid methane as propellant, and that a debut flight would occur in 2025.
The company’s presentation in Milan also occurred a day after SpaceX successfully caught its first Super Heavy booster. This demonstrated the feasibility of the system in a real-world environment and boosted Cosmoleap’s confidence in developing a similar smaller recovery-only system.
In November Cosmoleap completed its first funding round, raising 100 million Yuan, equivalent to 13.8 million United States Dollars (as of December 10th). That funding round was led by Shneng Chengyi (申能诚毅), Tianchuang Capital (天创资本), Boyan Fund (柏彦基金), Xianfeng Changqing (险峰长青), and the individual Zhang Chao (张超先生). Before that funding round the company had a believed 5.26 million Yuan, approximately 725,500 United States Dollars, in capital.
What do we know about Leap?
Leap (跃迁一号) is Cosmoleap’s (大航跃迁), two-stage partially reusable launch vehicle that burns liquid methane and liquid oxygen in both stages. The vehicle is 75 meters tall with a diameter of 4 meters for both the first-stage, second-stage, and fairing. At liftoff, the vehicle will weigh no more than 500 tons while nine engines generating 720 tons of thrust will carry the vehicle off of a launchpad.
For recovery, four grid fins will guide the first-stage booster to a catch tower downrange from the launch site. A single engine will ignite to slow and guide the booster into the catch tower’s arms for recovery. These recovery towers will be built both inland and on barges for sea-based recovery.
The payload capacity of Leap is planned to be 6,250 kilograms with booster recovery or 10,400 kilograms with the booster expended to a low Earth orbit altitude of 1000 kilometers.
A debut flight of Leap is planned for 2025, previously being scheduled for 2026. It is unknown if this first flight will include an attempt to recover the first stage. Cosmoleap has previously said that the main priority of development was to produce a low-cost and reliable launch vehicle with reuse implemented later on if necessary.