HELSINKI — China has conducted a series of successful hot fire tests for engines designed to power a launch vehicle capable of sending astronauts to the moon.
A 300-second mission duty cycle test of a kerosene-liquid oxygen engine was conducted Oct. 23, the Academy of Aerospace Liquid Propulsion Technology (AALPT) announced. The engine has completed three successful tests totaling 650 seconds since late September.
A pair of the engines—sometimes referred to as the YF-100M—will power the second stage of a new generation crew launch vehicle. The vacuum-optimized engine will use a titanium alloy nozzle.
A liquid hydrogen-liquid oxygen engine for the rocket’s third stage also recently passed the milestone of 10,000 seconds of testing, the Beijing Aerospace Testing Technology Research Institute said in a statement Oct. 29.
The institute is, like AALPT, ultimately owned…
