A detailed comparison of my country’s private commercial rockets that are most likely to fly for the first time this year

Rockets are the fundamental basis for the existence and development of the entire commercial aerospace industry. Without reliable rockets, nothing is possible. Beginning in 2015, with the gradual opening up of national policies and the encouragement of commercial aerospace development, a group of technical elites and social capital within the system began to join forces, thus giving birth to a number of commercial rocket companies. To this day, some companies are still developing on this track, while some companies have fallen. In today’s large industrial context, the networking of the “GW” constellation and the “G60” constellation is undoubtedly the core industrial logic for the development of commercial rocket companies, and it is also the basis for everyone to tell stories to the capital market. As the “GW” constellation and “G60” constellation network satellites are launched into the sky one after another, Xingwang and Yuanxin’s demand for rockets that can perform missions is becoming more and more urgent. Which rocket can launch into the sky the fastest, be finalized the fastest, and perform the mission the fastest will gain absolute advantages and absolute opportunities in the market.

The following is a comparison of 7 rockets: Tianlong 3, Suzaku 3, Pallas 1, Lijian 2, Hyperbola 3, Gravity 2, and Yuanxingzhe 1. These 7 rockets are not guaranteed to be launched this year, but at least compared to the rocket models of other private rocket companies, there are currently some progress for reference.

1. Structural parameters

rocket model

Arrow body diameter/meter

Arrow body length/meter

configuration

Mass/ton

Tianlong 3

3.8

72

Level 2/Level 3

600

Suzaku No.3

4.5

65.9

two levels

550

Pallas 1

3.35

49.627

Level 2/Level 3

283

Lijian No. 2

3.35

52

Two and a half levels

625

Hyperbola No. 3

4.2

70

two levels

491

Gravity 2

4.2

70

two levels

715

Yuanxingzhe No.1

4.2

66

two levels

509

2. Dynamic parameters

(1) First-level power

rocket model

Engine name

propellant type

Number of engines

sea ​​level thrust

sea ​​level specific impulse

Whether to develop its own engine

Is it reusable?

Tianlong 3

Skyfire-12 (TH-12)

liquid oxygen kerosene

9

810 t

285 s

yes

yes

Suzaku No.3

Tianque-12A (TQ-12A)

liquid oxygen methane

9

720 t

290 s

yes

yes

Pallas 1

CQ-50 (CQ-50)

liquid oxygen kerosene

7

350 t

265 s

yes

yes

Lijian No. 2

YF-102

liquid oxygen kerosene

3

250 t

275 s

no

/

Hyperbola No. 3

Focus No. 2 (JD-2)

liquid oxygen methane

9

765 t

289 s

yes

yes

Gravity 2

Force-110 (Force-110)

liquid oxygen kerosene

9

990 t

313 s

yes

yes

Yuanxingzhe No.1

Long Yun (LY-70)

liquid oxygen methane

9

720 t

320 s

no

yes

(2) Secondary power

rocket model

Engine name

propellant type

Number of engines

vacuum thrust

Vacuum specific impulse

Whether to develop its own engine

Tianlong 3

Skyfire-12V (TH-12V)

liquid oxygen kerosene

1

110 t

330 s

yes

Suzaku No.3

Tianque-15A (TQ-15A)

liquid oxygen methane

1

85 t

332 s

yes

Pallas 1

CQ-50 (CQ-50V)

liquid oxygen kerosene

1

60t

330 s

yes

Lijian No. 2

YF-102V

liquid oxygen kerosene

1

72 t

330 s

no

Hyperbola No. 3

Focus No. 2 (JD-2)

liquid oxygen methane

1

105t

351 s

yes

Gravity 2

Force-110 (Force-110)

liquid oxygen kerosene

1

122 t

313 s

yes

Yuanxingzhe No.1

/

/

/

/

/

/

3. Performance parameters

rocket model

LEO carrying capacity

Tianlong 3

LEO(800km,90°):

≥10 tons

SSO (500 km):10-17 tons

Suzaku No.3

LEO:

11.8 tons (not recycled)

8 tons (recycling in navigation area)

Pallas 1

LEO:8 tons;

SSO (700 km): 3 tons;

Lijian No. 2

SSO (500 km): 8 tons;

SSO (700 km): 5.6 tons;

Hyperbola No. 3

LEO(200 km):

14 tons (not recycled)

8.5 tons (track recovery)

SSO(500 km):

6.2 tons (recycled off route)

10.4 tons (not recycled)

Gravity 2

LEO:

21.5 tons (not recycled)

17.4 tons (recycling in navigation area)

SSO(500 km):

15 tons (not recycled)

11.9 tons (recycling in navigation area)

Yuanxingzhe No.1

LEO (1100 km): 7 tons

4. Summary

From the configuration point of view, except for the CBC configuration of Lijian 2, the other models are all made of polished rods, which shows that there are still some similarities in their underlying logic. From the perspective of recycling logic, polished rods are still better. Compared with Space-X, Falcon 9 is a polished rod and Falcon Heavy is in a CBC configuration. However, the Falcon Heavy fired 11 times and never again. Among these 11 times, both the first stage and the booster were successfully recovered only once. However, when it was pulled back to the port, the first stage fell into the sea. The third time it failed to recover the first stage, it failed. Since then, the Falcon Heavy’s first stage has not been recovered.

From the perspective of power, except for Lijian 2 and Yuanxingzhe 1, all others are self-developed engines, and Lijian 2 and Yuanxingzhe 1 are also different. Lijian 1 uses the engine of the national team, the YF-102 of the Sixth Academy. At that time, Tianbing Technology defeated Tianlong On the 2nd, this engine was also used, but it was a reduced-thrust version; Yuanxingzhe 1 used an engine from a private company, Jiuzhou Yunjian’s LY-70, and the 10-kilometer VTVL test conducted by the Eighth Institute also used this engine. Among several other rockets, except Pallas 1, which uses seven engines, the others have nine engines in parallel. Moreover, the sea-level thrust of the CQ-50 (CQ-50V) is only 50 t. It remains to be seen how Galaxy Power will use this rocket to undertake orders from StarNet and Yuanxin in the future.

Basically, all types of rockets have announced their reuse times and first flight times, but just look at it. You have to pull it out to know whether it is a mule or a horse. As for what you are saying now, just listen to it. However, some of the progress currently announced by various companies is still worth taking a look at. There are also changes in personnel in key positions, which is also an important factor affecting the Rockets. It is also worth taking a look. Recently, there have been some changes in key personnel in the market.

References to third-party companies, products, services, or projects are for informational purposes only and do not imply endorsement, affiliation, or partnership unless explicitly stated.