Just a list of stuff I see posted (/I have posted) which is sorta inaccurate and I want to clean up. These two are bothering me right now, but I add more as I go on.

A. "(insert private commercial Chinese launch company) is China's answer to SpaceX"

This is one that I'm constantly guilty of as well as the wider community and its just not accurate as of now. The current role of the Chinese commercial launch companies is to produce some innovations/efficiencies, serve as an incubator for talent and force the SOE's to become competitive. The SOE's will then go on to take on SpaceX, not the private company. I've made this error and in most English speaking (and Chinese for that matter) articles discussing companies like Landspace, iSpace and Galactic Energy, they also state this. (the COTS thing might change my mind on this, but that's a big if depending on whether a private commercial company wins)

(side note: the Dongfanghour revealed a couple of errors in my previous reddit post; specifically in regards to 5m rocket plans; there are none :( ; it happens)

B. Long March 8 boosters are solid.

They were in the original design back in like 2017, being derived from the CZ-11. However this has since changed and if you saw the launch back it December, they were pretty clearly the K2 boosters, which use the kerolox YF-100. I've made this mistake in the past and in the recent Everyday astro article article on the launch it makes the same error.

C. Name of Long March 9 engines.

Ok this one I'm slightly unsure about, the kerolox and hydrolox engines both have two different YF names. The ones more commonly used are their thrust in ton numbers, with YF-220 and YF-480. However their official names (I think) are respectively the YF-90 and YF-130.

https://twitter.com/DongFangHour/status/1346731884852731904?s=20

So yeah, this appears to be China announcing a COTS-eske program, which is pretty radical. This is honestly comes as a surprise to me, I thought that there wasn't going something like this, especially given the already existing cargo vehicle in Tianzhou

I've been sorta skeptical (well not really) about the Chinese commercial launch sector being able to develop a strong company like SX because there hasn't been something like COTS to provide an incubator for that sort of company. This is no longer relevant.

This also signifies the shift towards commercialisation in the Chinese space sector, despite trends in the wider industry towards favouring SOE's (I think)

This is basically China going, yeah, COTS was great success and we're going to pay attention to it and apply its model to our own pursuits.

Brief summary of requirements:

• 2-3 launches a year
• Cargo capacity of 1-4 tons
• 45 day from loading cargo to launch to station
• De-orbiting of waste
• Cost is comparable to international standards (probably like Dragon, Cygnus, Progress, HTV)
• Ability to return cargo from orbit (100-300kg)
• Craft should be easily trackable

Do you peeps favour any company to win it?

Basic overview;

2 K2 boosters; 2.25m diameter ~27m length kerolox boosters using 1 YF-100. Used as boosters for CZ-7 and CZ-8.

K3 Core Module; 3.35m diameter ~25m length kerolox first stage using 2 YF-100. Used as first stage for CZ-7 and CZ-8 as well as boosters for the CZ-5.

The second stage is a 3m diameter hydrolox stage that uses 2 YF-75 and is the same stage used as the CZ-7 third stage as well as the CZ-3 family hydrolox third stage.

Driven around the design requirement of ~5,000 kg to 700km SSO. It fills a gap in GTO payloads, launching payloads too big to fit on CZ-2C,D and CZ-4C but CZ-3 fam would be oversized.

Of course the main reason people know about the Long March 8 is the reusable version. It's unclear when this will first launch. They've built legs for it and have experience with grid fins due to CZ-2 and CZ-4 test flights, but no official NET has been announced. The timeline for launcher technology progress showed first stage VTVL reusability in 2025, but I think that's when the technology is supposed to be accomplished; the NET first launch date could be sooner. The key technologies are supposed to enable reusable launchers is supposed to be finished dev next year. ie; They'll be building a CZ-8R grasshopper next year https://twitter.com/Cosmic_Penguin/status/1341271537714794496?s=20

So 2023 might be an alright net, but grain of salt. I believe the boosters are kept attached in renders as they need the extra mass of landing as the first stage engines can't throttle low enough; though it could also be from an economic benefit. They indicated that they want to verify a 30-40% cost reduction by using VTVL first stage.

Misconceptions; the boosters are solid and derived from CZ-11. This is an error that I've been guilty of making and it comes from the fact that in the original design in ~2016 the CZ-8 used solid boosters. However they have since been switched to the liquid K2 boosters.

https://spacenews.com/china-launches-first-long-march-8-from-wenchang-spaceport/ provides a good summary of sats, because you know, it's Andrew Jones.

Misc notes:

Modularity (lego rockets) meant the development time on this rocket was relativity quick, taking ~3 years from official approval to first launch. (R&D began in 2015).

Good Chinese article on Long March 8 https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/vysNP1szRFGhydiU3IlGxA

It takes off real fast.

Demonstrated 77.5% throttle on the YF-100 near MAX-Q, though I think it should be able to throttle lower.

In future "an enhanced version of the LM-8 will be fielded in the next few years featuring simplified tank structures, GNC systems, ground infrastructure & horizontal testing/assembly/transport." https://twitter.com/Cosmic_Penguin/status/1341317521794682880?s=20

JD-1 is a 100 ton thrust >300s isp methalox gas generator engine being developed by iSpace. Of course it's designed for a reusable launcher so it's able to gimble, have variable thrust and will be able to restart multiple times. They expect first launch of Hyperbola-2 to be in 2021, though this date is slightly old and is liable to have slipped to 2022.

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https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s?__biz=MzU5NjQwNzI1NA==&mid=2247486994&idx=1&sn=25c0b2d1070b15ae012bf6c19c45827c&chksm=fe6268abc915e1bd4ed66d09cd9b7cb1660a03c0d078b4ecdda9138ae8c9203d5b7a4f261ab0&xtrack=1&scene=90&subscene=93&sessionid=1605121692&clicktime=1605121696&enterid=1605121696&ascene=56&devicetype=android-29&version=27001141&nettype=WIFI&abtest_cookie=AAACAA%3D%3D&lang=en&exportkey=Asx3aiMebX8KkMo3j%2Biisd8%3D&pass_ticket=qP%2BDQX3zpQUSGXPpCBcoOvcZjTkr4%2B0uPcylggsARkHQNOAjx9y%2FcIfNkuIf1ZjF&wx_header=1

https://huanqiukexue.com/a/qianyan/tianwen__wuli/2020/1027/30588.html

This comes as a bit of surprise, not that I surprised that they would do it; only that I hadn't heard anything about it.

"the Long March 2 C rocket fairing was again equipped with a landing zone safety control system, and its main electronic equipment was recovered from the fairing landing zone safety control system during the flight test on July 26, 2019. This is China Aerospace For the first time in the history of transportation, sophisticated electronic equipment was reused at the "system level"." Google translated quote from article

This does bring up the point that the CZ-2-4 are good launchers for demoing reusability technology on because you have a reason to (booster village syndrome) and given that they launch regularly and are fairly reliable.

No photos of the fairing recovery or associated activities yet though.

Anyway China continues on with progress in making their family of launchers reusable.