Tianlong-3
| Function | Orbital launch vehicle |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Space Pioneer |
| Country of origin | China |
| Size | |
| Height | 71 m (233 ft) |
| Diameter | 3.8 m (12 ft) |
| Mass | 590 t (1,300,000 lb) |
| Stages | 2 |
| Capacity | |
| Payload to Low Earth orbit (LEO) | |
| Mass | 17 t (37,000 lb) |
| Payload to Sun-synchronous orbit (SSO) | |
| Mass | 14 t (31,000 lb) |
| Launch history | |
| Status | In development |
| Launch sites | |
| Total launches | 1 (unintentional) |
| First flight | June 30, 2024. |
| First stage | |
| Powered by |
|
| Maximum thrust | 8.0 MN (820 tf; 1,800,000 lbf) |
| Propellant | LOX / RP-1 |
| Second stage | |
| Powered by | 1 x TH-12 Vac |
| Maximum thrust | 1,350 kN (138 tf; 300,000 lbf) |
| Propellant | LOX / RP-1 |
Tianlong-3 (Chinese: 天龙三号; pinyin: Tiānlóng sān hào; lit. 'Heavenly Dragon 3', TL-3) is a medium-lift orbital launch vehicle developed by the Chinese private aerospace manufacturer Space Pioneer. It is designed to be partially reusable, with the first stage capable of performing an autonomous vertical landing and being reused up to 10 times. Tianlong-3 is part of Space Pioneer's efforts to develop low-cost, reusable launch vehicles to compete in the growing commercial launch market. It aims to provide launch services for medium-sized payloads to low Earth orbit (LEO) and sun-synchronous orbit (SSO).[1][2][3]
Design
[edit]First stage
[edit]The first stage of the Tianlong-3 is equipped with 9 Tianhuo-12 (TH-12) liquid oxygen/kerosene engines. Each engine has a vacuum thrust of 1,350 kN, a vacuum specific impulse of 335 s, a sea-level thrust of 1,090 kN, a sea-level specific impulse of 285 s, a throttling range of 40%~110%, and a thrust-to-weight ratio of 163. The engines utilize a gas generator cycle and feature pump-fed gimbaling.[2][4]
The first stage propellant tanks have a diameter of 3.8 meters and use the same triangular grid-stiffened shell structure as the 3.35-meter-diameter tanks of the Tianlong-2 first stage.[4]
Second stage
[edit]The second stage of the Tianlong-3 is equipped with a single vacuum-optimized version of the Tianhuo-12 engine, designated as TH-12V.[4]
Payload fairing
[edit]The standard payload fairing of the Tianlong-3 has a diameter of 4.2 m, a height of 12 m, and can accommodate payloads with a diameter of up to 3.8 m and a height of up to 10 m. An enhanced version of the fairing, with a diameter of 5.2 m and a height of 14 m, is also available.[4]
Orbital insertion accuracy
[edit]The Tianlong-3 is designed to achieve high orbital insertion accuracy, with a semi-major axis deviation of ≤ 5 km, an orbital inclination deviation of ≤ 0.07°, an eccentricity deviation of ≤ 0.003, an attitude angle deviation of ≤ 0.5°, and an attitude angular velocity deviation of ≤ 0.5°/s.[5]
History
[edit]Tianhuo-12 engine
[edit]On July 24, 2023, the Tianhuo-12 (TH-12) engine, designed for the Tianlong-3 rocket, successfully completed a full-duration hot fire test. The test utilized an engine in the flight configuration of the first Tianlong-3 rocket and was conducted at rated conditions for a single burn duration of 100 seconds, accumulating a total test duration of 200 seconds. This test demonstrated that the engine met the flight requirements for the Tianlong-3 rocket.[6]
In early January 2024, the TH-12 engine completed a calibration hot fire test for the first flight batch. The test, conducted using an engine in the flight configuration of the first Tianlong-3 rocket, subjected the engine to a 50-second process verification test at rated conditions. During the test, the engine demonstrated rapid startup, smooth operation, and normal shutdown.[7]
Later in January 2024, the TH-12 engine underwent a spot check hot fire test for the first flight batch, fully simulating the flight conditions of the inaugural Tianlong-3 launch. The test involved 6 consecutive ignitions of the engine without removal from the test stand, accumulating a total test duration exceeding 1,000 seconds. Notably, the single engine operating time during the test surpassed the planned flight duration by a factor of 6.[8]
Accidental launch during static fire test
[edit]On June 30, 2024, a Tianlong-3 first stage detached from its stand during a static fire test due to a structural failure, resulting in an unintentional liftoff.[9][10] The errant stage crashed and exploded in the mountains 1.5 kilometres (0.9 mi) southwest of the test stand at the Gongyi Engine Test Facility, and no casualties were reported.[11] The test stand was 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) from the centre of Gongyi, and less than 1 kilometre (0.6 mi) from a smaller village.[12]
A patent issued in 2023 for the test stand, previously used for Tianlong-2, describes a maximum load-bearing capacity of 600 tonnes-force (5.9 MN; 1,300,000 lbf).[13]: 9 Space Pioneer stated that the nine-engine first stage had reached a thrust of 820 tonnes-force (8.0 MN; 1,800,000 lbf) prior to failure with 200 tonnes (440,000 lb) of fuel remaining, suggesting the partially-fueled first stage's net thrust may have exceeded the test stand's designed capacity.[10][14][15]
Maiden flight
[edit]The maiden flight of the Tianlong-3 rocket was scheduled for September 2024, launching from the Wenchang Commercial Spaceport's LC-2 launch complex. The rocket was to carry a payload destined for a sun-synchronous orbit (SSO). Although the first stage of the rocket is designed for reusability, it is not planned to be recovered during this inaugural launch.[16]
Launches
[edit]| Rocket & Serial | Flight No. | Date (UTC) | Payload | Orbit | Launch Site | Outcome | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tianlong-3 first stage | N/A | June 30, 2024 | N/A | N/A | Gongyi Engine Test Facility | Unintentional Launch | Planned static fire test with a duration of 30 seconds, vehicle broke free from the test stand after ignition.[17] |
| Tianlong-3 | Y1 | December 2024 | Various | SSO | Wenchang Commercial, LC-2 | Planned | [18][1] |
| Tianlong-3 | Y2 | TBD | Various | SSO | Wenchang Commercial, LC-2 | Planned | [1] |
| Tianlong-3 | Y3 | TBD | Various | SSO | Wenchang Commercial, LC-2 | Planned | [1] |
See also
[edit]
- Comparison of orbital launcher families
- Comparison of orbital launch systems
- Expendable launch system
- Lists of rockets
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d China 'N Asia Spaceflight [@CNSpaceflight] (30 November 2023). "A leaked photo shows SPACE-PIONEER is targeting next June for the maiden launch of Tianlong-3, 14t to 500km SSO, from Wenchang commercial launch pad#2, which is still under construction. 2 more launches are planned for September & November from Wenchang & Jiuquan, 11t to 800km" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ a b Jones, Andrew (27 June 2023). "Chinese company plans to launch rocket comparable to Falcon 9 in 2024". SpaceNews. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
- ^ Jones, Andrew (31 October 2023). "China's Space Pioneer raise funding for its Falcon 9-class rocket". SpaceNews. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
- ^ a b c d "天龙系列 - 天兵科技". www.spacepioneer.cc. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
- ^ Liu, Xinglong. "Development Prospect of Medium and Large Liquid Launch Vehicle Technology". The 9th China (International) Commercial Aerospace Forum. Archived from the original on 11 March 2024. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
- ^ Space Pioneer. "热烈庆祝天兵科技百吨级液体火箭发动机 首飞状态全系统长程热试车圆满成功" (in Chinese (China)). Archived from the original on 2024-03-11. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
- ^ "热烈庆祝天兵科技天龙三号批产发动机校准试车圆满成功" (in Chinese (China)). Archived from the original on 2024-03-11. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
- ^ "热烈庆祝天兵科技天龙三号首飞批次发动机抽检试车圆满成功" (in Chinese (China)). Archived from the original on 2024-03-11. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
- ^ Andrew Jones [@AJ_FI] (30 June 2024). "Wow. This is apparently what was supposed to be a STATIC FIRE TEST today of a Tianlong-3 first stage by China's Space Pioneer. That's catastrophic, not static. Firm was targeting an orbital launch in the coming months. https://m.weibo.cn/detail/5050998629862652" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ a b "关于天龙三号大型液体运载火箭一子级动力系统试车的情况说明" (in Chinese (China)). Archived from the original on 2024-06-30. Retrieved 30 June 2024.
- ^ Andrew Jones [@AJ_FI] (30 June 2024). "Good news is that there are no casualties so far, according to The Paper. https://m.weibo.cn/status/Olpi2wMGc?refer_flag=1001030103_&jumpfrom=weibocom" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ Berger, Eric (July 1, 2024). "Chinese space firm unintentionally launches its new rocket". Ars Technica. Retrieved July 2, 2024.
- ^ CN patent 219714748U, 王海琛, 冯飞飞, 宋波, 张志涛, 张伟, 石浩, 丁泉, "一种运载火箭动力系统试车用支撑结构", published 2023-09-19
- ^ Bünte, Oliver (July 1, 2024). "Engine test: Chinese Tianlong-3 rocket launches unintentionally and explodes". Heise online. Retrieved July 2, 2024.
- ^ @mcrs987 (July 1, 2024). "Funny side note, after a little bit of investigation w/ others, the patent for the pad (which was originally for Tianlong-2) was only designed to support up to 600t of force. T3Y1 has a thrust of 820t, w/ 220t of propellant by the time cutoff occurred How on earth was this supposed to work lol https://m.weibo.cn/status/Olw7R1ZVh?jumpfrom=weibocom" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ "大推力液体火箭发动机运抵张家港 助力"天龙三号"冲刺首飞" (in Chinese (China)). Retrieved 11 March 2024.
- ^ Jones, Andrew (June 30, 2024). "Chinese rocket static-fire test results in unintended launch and huge explosion". SpaceNews. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
- ^ China 'N Asia Spaceflight [@CNSpaceflight] (11 June 2024). "SPACE-PIONEER completed the assembly of their first Tianlong-3 booster in Jiangsu and is transporting it to Henan for a static fire test. The maiden launch is planned for September" (Tweet). Retrieved 30 June 2024 – via Twitter.