On a Tuesday midday in December 2020, a new Chinese rocket, the medium-lift Long March 8 Y-1, rose from the southern island of Hainan on its first flight, carrying five satellites into orbit. It stands as one step in a longer ambition: a family of rockets that might one day land and fly again, as the American firm SpaceX has demonstrated, in the hope of lowering the cost of reaching space. Whether this particular vehicle can be reused remains unsaid, so the launch is best read as a beginning rather than an arrival, a stone set down on a path whose far end lies somewhere around 2025 and beyond.
China's Long March 8 Makes Maiden Flight, Opening Path to Reusable Rockets
State media did not say whether the rocket itself is reusable
Mark
Five satellites on a first flight. Is that the headline, or is it the reusability?
Mimi
The reusability, though it's still a plan. This flight is the opening move in a series that is meant to lead to rockets that can be flown more than once, to cut costs and speed up launches for commercial clients.
Luke
Careful, though. State media didn't say whether this particular rocket is reusable. Everything about reuse concerns future variants.
Mark
So what do we actually know about those variants?
Mimi
They're expected to take off and land vertically, and an official at China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp said in November that the first such vehicle would come around 2025.
Luke
That's one official's statement at a local conference, and it says 'around.' It's a target, not a schedule we can hold anyone to.
Mark
The SpaceX comparison keeps coming up. Is that China's framing?
Mimi
The reporting draws it: Falcon rockets already exist, and China wants something similar under the Long March 8 name.
Luke
Worth noting the comparison is about direction, not capability. Nothing here says China's vehicle matches Falcon's performance or costs.
Mark
And the bigger picture?
Mimi
A year with a lunar sample return, a Mars mission, a planned space station around 2022, and an ambition of thousands of flights a year by 2045.
Luke
Those 2022 and 2045 items are aims, not results. Only the launch, the moon samples and the Mars mission have actually happened.
Der Puls
- A brand-new rocket left Hainan on its maiden flight, and the first test of its design is now behind it.
- State media confirmed five satellites aboard but stayed silent on whether the rocket itself can be reused, leaving a open question.
- Beijing is racing toward reusable launch vehicles, with a first vertical takeoff and landing craft targeted around 2025.
- The stakes are rising fast as China closes a busy year of lunar sample return and a Mars mission, aiming for a station and thousands of flights a year by 2045.
On a Tuesday midday in December 2020, a new Chinese rocket, the medium-lift Long March 8 Y-1, rose from the southern island of Hainan on its first flight, carrying five satellites into orbit. It stands as one step in a longer ambition: a family of rockets that might one day land and fly again, as the American firm SpaceX has demonstrated, in the hope of lowering the cost of reaching space. Whether this particular vehicle can be reused remains unsaid, so the launch is best read as a beginning rather than an arrival, a stone set down on a path whose far end lies somewhere around 2025 and beyond.
At 12:37 p.m. local time on Tuesday, a new Chinese rocket lifted off from Hainan island in the south. The medium-lift Long March 8 Y-1 was flying for the first time, and it carried five satellites. Chinese state media reported the launch.
The flight is meant to be the first step in a longer plan. China intends to build reusable rockets within the Long March 8 series, following a path similar to SpaceX's Falcon family in the United States. The aims are lower mission costs and faster launch schedules for commercial customers.
State media did not say whether this rocket itself can be reused. Later versions are expected to take off and land vertically, a design known as VTVL, which would allow one vehicle to fly more than once. In November, an official at China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp suggested that the first such vehicle would arrive around 2025.
The launch capped a busy year for China's space programme. Earlier in December, it returned lunar rocks and soil, the first such retrieval since 1976, and in July it sent its first independent mission to Mars. Ahead lie a multi-module space station around 2022 and, by 2045, a system handling thousands of flights a year.
For now, the key question is whether the Long March 8 series produces a rocket that can land and fly again.
At 12:37 p.m. local time on Tuesday, a new Chinese rocket lifted off from the island of Hainan in the country's south. The medium-lift Long March 8 Y-1, flying for the first time, carried five satellites. The launch was reported by Chinese state media; the liftoff corresponds to 0437 GMT.
The flight is the first step in a longer plan. China intends to develop reusable rockets under the Long March 8 series in the coming years, a path comparable to the Falcon range already built by the U.S. private aerospace company SpaceX. The stated goals are to cut the cost of missions and to speed up launch schedules for commercial clients.
There is an important gap in what has been reported. State media did not say whether the Long March 8 Y-1 itself can be reused. What is expected is that later variants will be able to take off vertically and land vertically, a configuration known as VTVL, which would let a single vehicle fly more than one mission.
A timeline has been floated for that step. In November, an official at the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp, the country's main space contractor, told a local conference that China will develop its first VTVL vehicle around 2025.
The launch closed out a busy year for the Chinese space programme. Earlier in December, China brought back rocks and soil from the moon, the first lunar sample retrieval since 1976. In July, it launched its first independent mission to Mars.
The next milestones are larger. Around 2022, China aims to finish a multi-module, inhabited space station. By 2045, it hopes to have a programme running thousands of flights a year and carrying tens of thousands of tonnes of cargo and passengers.
For now, the thing to watch is whether the Long March 8 series produces a vehicle that can actually land and fly again, with the 2025 date for a first VTVL vehicle the nearest marker.
Bemerkenswerte Zitate
China will develop its first vertical takeoff and landing vehicle around 2025.— Official at China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp, speaking at a local conference in November
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