'China successfully conducts vertical landing test of space rocket'
China has successfully carried out a vertical landing test of a carrier rocket, which will promote development of a reusable space transportation system, official media reported today. This is to achieve a leap in development from single-use to reusable systems. The Space Intelligence Technology Innovation Centre and a national key laboratory of aerospace intelligent control technology were responsible for the flight test and research.
The Beijing Aerospace Institute of Automatic Control at the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation successfully carried out the flight verification test of a carrier rocket's vertical landing system with guidance and control technology on Monday, Xinhua news agency reported.
The institute started the research and established a team for the project this year. The team designed and built a reusable small-sized test platform for vertical take-off and landing to help carry out the tests, state-run Global Times reported. The successful experiment demonstrated the core technologies of inline path planning and relative navigation and guidance control with high precision, it added.
The technology will promote the development of a reusable space transportation system and also aid the transformation from single-voyage space transportation to a combination of transportation and operations, it said, adding the institute is looking forward to amplify its efforts to make space transportation reliable.
