Deep Blue Aerospace
A Chinese language house startup carried out what it referred to as a “high-altitude” take a look at flight of its Nebula-1 rocket on Sunday, launching the automobile to an altitude of about 5 km or so earlier than trying to land it again on the Ejin Banner Spaceport in Internal Mongolia.
The take a look at flight went properly for about two and a half minutes earlier than the automobile skilled an issue simply earlier than touchdown and erupted right into a fireball.
This isn’t the primary vertical rocket touchdown take a look at by a Chinese language firm, however what units Deep Blue Aerospace aside from its opponents is its transparency. Inside hours the corporate launched an in depth assertion concerning the take a look at flight, its targets, and a preliminary evaluate of what went unsuitable.
Drone footage from Deep Blue Aerospace’s VTVL try immediately. Nice view of the touchdown and explosion. https://t.co/jlZhrYRLMI pic.twitter.com/rne1aT5566
— Andrew Jones (@AJ_FI) September 22, 2024
Along with this assertion, the corporate launched photos and video—together with that from close by drones—that included the fiery touchdown try and its aftermath. That is a few of the most unbelievable rocket footage I’ve ever seen, and a welcome new development towards transparency from Chinese language house firms.
The corporate stated it realized lots from the take a look at, finishing 10 of its 11 main targets. It plans to try one other high-altitude take a look at flight as early as November.
Deep Blue Aerospace is considered one of a number of Chinese language aerospace startups—together with Linkspace, iSpace, Galactic Power, and House Pioneer amongst others—looking for to emulate the success that US-based SpaceX has had with vertical take off and vertical touchdown of rockets. These experiments mimic the groundbreaking experiments SpaceX carried out with its Grasshopper take a look at automobile greater than a decade in the past on the firm’s engine take a look at website in McGregor, Texas.
That is simply essentially the most unbelievable footage of a rocket touchdown I’ve ever seen. Video is by Deep Blue Aerospace pic.twitter.com/PxmU7ugBIS
— SpaceBasedFox 𝖕𝖊𝖗𝖎𝖌𝖊𝖊𝖆𝖊𝖗𝖔.𝖈𝖔𝖒 (@SpaceBasedFox) September 22, 2024
Deep Blue’s Nebula-1 rocket has a diameter of three.35 meters (11 toes) which is barely smaller than SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket (12 toes in diameter). Will probably be powered by kerosene-liquid oxygen fueled engines, just like the Falcon 9. Given the setback this weekend, an orbital take a look at flight of Nebula-1 is unlikely to happen earlier than someday in 2025.
Whereas SpaceX carried out its vertical touchdown checks after the Falcon 9 had begun launching prospects into orbit, Deep Blue Aerospace is testing previous to orbital launches in an try to start touchdown its first phases from the very starting. Given what we have seen up to now, it ought to be enjoyable to look at.
