Robots on Tiangong and a hopper in Haiyang
A major reusable rocket test is set to take place from Haiyang while some robots work on the Tiangong Space Station.
Just over two weeks into 2025 the Shenzhou-18 crew are almost adjusted back to life on Earth, while some robots are helping on the Tiangong Space Station. Recent days have also seen a hop test vehicle appear in Haiyang while other reusable vehicles test hardware.
CASC/SAST set to perform near space hop test
A few days ago on January 11th the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation’s (CASC) and the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology’s (SAST) hop test vehicle appeared in Haiyang (海阳市) ahead of a test that is rumored to occur within a week. Back in June 2024, the two companies conducted a joint test inside the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center using a similar vehicle to an altitude between ten and twelve kilometers.
The test possibly expected to occur in a few days will fly to a rumored altitude of up to seventy-five kilometers while ascending using three engines before switching down to one, these engines are Jiuzhou Yunjian’s liquid methane and liquid oxygen burning Longyun, generating seventy tons of thrust each. Unlike the previous test, the descent will be unpowered and guided by four grid fins. Once the test vehicle is a few kilometers above the Yellow Sea’s surface one engine will relight to enable a soft splashdown.
It is unknown if the vehicle in Haiyang is the same as the test in June, nevertheless there are a few changes present between the two. Most noticeably the four landing legs have been removed from the base of the vehicle as they are not needed for a splashdown. The vehicle has also gained some additional height to allow for the installation of four grid fins, needed to provide control during unpowered descent, as well as proper thruster pods, which will help control the vehicle in the thinnest parts of the atmosphere. Four aerodynamic fins have also been moved and redesigned, now placed lower and 45 degrees from where they were in June 2024.
Launch infrastructure from the previous test has also been brought to Haiyang, with the launch pad location having been recently paved. The launch pad is located in a small tourist park roughly three kilometers offshore, which has one road in and out making it a convenient location to close off. This location may also have been chosen to allow for a highly public science popularization event while still being safe for the general public, while also possibly temporarily boosting local tourism for a few days.
Details about this test hop have not yet been released by the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology or the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation but after the previous test both said it supported the development process of reusable launch vehicles. If this test is successful it will likely provide a wealth of data for the in-development detail-scarce Long March 12A, said to be powered by Longyun engines with first-stage landings at sea to allow for reuse.
Shenzhou-18 crew set to return to normal life
On January 8th Ye Guangfu (叶光富), Li Cong (李聪), and Li Guangsu (李广苏) met the press in the Astronaut Center of China located in Beijing, just over two months after the end of the Shenzhou-18 mission.
Since returning to Earth the three taikonauts have had their physical and mental health monitored as their bodies readjust to the planet. Officials stated that the crew’s muscle strength, endurance, and exercise cardiopulmonary function have returned to preflight levels and after passing health and well-being assessments in the coming weeks they will reenter potential selection for future missions and normal life.
Additional attention on how the crew’s bodies readjust is being provided due to the Shenzhou-18 mission lasting for a record-breaking 192 days, China’s longest crewed mission to date. Ye Guangfu has also currently spent the most time in space for a taikonaut at 374 days and is the only Chinese spacefarer to have spent over a year in orbit.
During the Shenzhou-18 mission from April 25th to November 3rd 2024, the crew conducted two spacewalks to perform maintenance and install hardware, as well as experiments in the fields of basic physics in microgravity, space material science, space life science, space medicine, and space technology.
The crew was also accompanied by some non-human space travelers, a small group of zebrafish. According to Sun Yonghua (孙永华), Director of the China Zebrafish Resource Center of the Institute of Hydrobiology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the fish survived almost a month and a half with him saying:
"It is the first time that zebrafish have survived for 43 days in such a closed aquatic ecosystem," — "Previously, German scientists set a record of 16 days for what they called a closed equilibrated biological aquatic ecosystem, but they conducted experiments using swordtail fish," — "Prior to this, the Chinese space station had already achieved the full life cycle cultivation of plants. And this launch of sending zebrafish into space is the first long-term cultivation of vertebrates in the Chinese space station, laying a scientific foundation for our future research on aquatic biology and life medicine in space, and providing scientific support for long-term human stays in orbit and deep space exploration"
By flying zebrafish to the Tiangong Space Station, scientists are hoping to make discoveries relating to adaption to the microgravity environment, medical breakthroughs due to their genome similarities with humans, and how reproductive processes are affected by space. More zebrafish are set to fly to Tiangong on future missions too.
Shenzhou-19 crew test robot assistants
Xinhua reported on January 13th that, according to the China Manned Space Agency, the crew of the Shenzhou-19 mission currently aboard the Tiangong Space Station were testing a small robot to assist with tasks aboard the station. This robot is believed to be called Xiao Hang (小航), or little space in English.
According to the China Manned Space Agency, during a test onboard the station Xiao Hang was positioned inside a simulated pipeline, powered up, and then completed a task to inspect the pipe. Following this simulated test the robot returned to its starting position. The purpose of the test was to validate technologies relating to the robot’s design for inspecting complex space environments.
Another report by China Central Television is said to have had a different robot carry out other experiments relating to human-robot spatial relationships, robot behavior characterization, and multimodal interaction technologies. These experiments are expected to provide data regarding improved mission efficiency based on human-robot cooperation. Wang Haoze (王浩泽), part of the Shenzhou-19 mission, added:
"In the future, [Xiao Hang] will also be able to perform various functions such as in-cabin inspections and resource management through upgrades"
Cosmoleap progresses on flight computer and thrusters
Cosmoleap shared on January 10th that it had completed a series of tests of its 100-newton and 300-newton thrusters, which will be used to control both stages of the company’s Leap (跃迁一号) launch vehicle in space and thin parts of the atmosphere.
The 100-newton thruster is stated as performing over ten thousand burns and pulses for a total time ignited of over one thousand seconds. The 300-newton thruster was also tested for around one thousand seconds while performing almost five thousand burns and pulses. Following the testing, the company mentioned that the thruster would enter the system-level engineering development stage and perform system-level coordination test runs.
A few days later on January 14th, Cosmoleap announced further progress on its flight computer, Flint One (火石一号). Recent tests had the computer linked to Leap’s engine’s electrical systems to evaluate its ability to ignite, shut down, control the throttle, and collect data about the engine. Cosmoleap was confident in the results as the flight computer was moved from the development stage to the engineering application stage, as well as offering to sell it to teams working on eVTOL vehicles.
CAS Space tests Kinetica-2 oxygen tank
CAS Space announced on January 8th that it had successfully completed static load tests on one of Kinetica-2’s first-stage liquid oxygen tanks. This test had forces applied through the test to ensure it could withstand the maximum stresses experienced during flight.
The company was confident in the results saying that measurements for the tank were within expected limits and that it is ready for the test flight phase, for which three will be needed due to Kinetica-2’s tri-core first-stage design.
Almost a week later on January 14th, CAS Space stated it had conducted a turbine pump hydraulics test for the Liqing-2 engine, which generates 110 tons of thrust while burning rocket-grade kerosene and liquid oxygen. This test had the oxygen and fuel pumps tested for their performance and possible cavitation. The efficiency of the pumps was as high as 80% for the oxygen pump and 76% for the fuel pump, vibrations were also within expectations.
Tianwen-1 orbiter raises orbit
On January 10th Daniel Estévez observed that the orbiter for the Tianwen-1 mission had performed an orbit-raising maneuver a few days prior. Estévez managed to observe the change using the 20-meter antenna in the Bochum observatory, in Germany. Estévez also estimates that the burn used 25.387 meters per second of delta-V. More math-focused details can be found here.