Buy a Tesla sports car from New York, USA, and receive it in Shanghai 40 minutes later; buy bluefin tuna from Tsukiji Market in Tokyo and have it on the table in 15 minutes... These scenes that sound incredible are exactly the latest information given by Taobao Imagine.
On April Fool’s Day, April 1 this year, Taobao announced the “Baojian” plan to cooperate with domestic commercial aerospace company Blue Arrow Aerospace: in 2022, recyclable launch vehicles will be used to deliver online shopping goods, and “ Earth Hour” will be achieved. delivery" online shopping experience will make "1-hour delivery" the standard for online shopping in the near future.
"Baojian" large launch vehicle
It is understood that Taobao's "Baojian" plan is divided into two phases. The first phase aims to use the "Baojian" large launch vehicle with intercontinental transportation capabilities to achieve "one-hour delivery on Earth" , the goal of the second phase is to miniaturize the "Xiaobaojian", which can take off and land on the roof of the building to achieve domestic delivery in seconds.
Rocket delivery may really be feasible
Although the "Baojian" plan is still an April Fool's Day fantasy, "rocket delivery" may sound a bit science fiction. However, in the past two years, recyclable rocket technology and industry have become increasingly mature, and rocket delivery is possible. Not that far away.
recyclable rocket technology has been proven feasible in recent years. In 2016, SpaceX successfully recovered the Falcon 9 rocket , verifying the feasibility of recyclable rocket technology. Then in 2017, SpaceX proposed a plan for intercontinental travel based on recyclable rocket technology, achieving global reach within one hour. China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation has also successfully tested rocket recovery technology in the past two years. It is calculated that this technology can reduce rocket launch costs by 99%, making commercial distribution possible. Taobao's "Baojian" plan is based on this technology for product distribution.
In addition to Falcon 9 recyclable rocket landing technology, the increasingly mature domestic aerospace industry foundation is also an important support for the "Baojian" plan. China's aerospace industry has accumulated more than 60 years. In the past few years, with the advancement of the military-civilian integration strategy, private aerospace has developed rapidly. Private rocket companies such as Blue Arrow Aerospace and 1space have successively completed the launch of their first rockets. , some have already carried out research on recyclable rocket technology, providing industrial support for Taobao. The "Baojian" project is a cooperation project between Taobao and the commercial aerospace company Blue Arrow Aerospace.
Currently, the "Baojianhao" verification arrow is being assembled. The verification arrow has a total length of 31 meters, a diameter of 2 meters, a take-off weight of 250 tons, and a ground transportation capacity of 5-10 tons (depending on the transportation distance). It is expected to make its first flight in 2022.
The "Baojian" test rocket being assembled
"Baojian" is based on the two-stage rocket, and adds a warehouse located in the fairing of the second-stage rocket, using the second-stage rocket for product distribution. Shortly after the rocket is launched vertically, the first-stage rocket returns to the launch site. The second-stage rocket accelerates out of the atmosphere and then falls under the influence of gravity. After continuously adjusting its direction and decelerating, it finally lands vertically at the destination, thus achieving "ground-to-ground" transportation. .
The second-stage rocket adds a cargo warehouse
"Baojian" flight sequence diagram
"Baojian" delivery can reach a maximum speed of 7km/s in suborbital orbit. A Tesla sports car purchased from New York can be shipped to Shanghai in 40 minutes, and bluefin tuna purchased from Tsukiji Market in Tokyo can reach a gourmet dining table in Chengdu in 15 minutes. Taobao said that in the future, if the express delivery volume is large enough, the free shipping area will be expanded from "Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai" to "U.S., Japan and South Korea".
According to imagination, Taobao will also pre-research the "Xiaobaojian" launch vehicle before 2025, which will be mainly used for domestic transportation. By then, it will only take 60 seconds for goods to arrive within a 30-kilometer range, and the rooftop will become a rocket station for sending and receiving goods. After placing an order on Taobao, you can go to the rooftop to receive the goods immediately.
Rocket delivery is also difficult without
In addition to rocket recovery and landing, Taobao is gradually overcoming other difficult issues:
The first is the terminal positioning. Rockets delivering express delivery need to land accurately in the user-specified area, such as the roof of a building, which places higher requirements on the positioning technology of the rocket at the end of its flight. However, thanks to my country's high-precision Beidou satellite positioning system, combined with some image recognition and other technologies, the positioning accuracy of the top floor will soon be achieved.
followed by launch site. Currently, all private rockets are launched from several fixed launch sites such as Jiuquan, and their launch capabilities are severely limited. However, the mobile "launch technology" of the Eighth Aerospace Academy has been successfully tested. Launches no longer need to be fixed at the launch site. Launches have become simpler and launch capabilities have been greatly improved.
Express delivery will be received on the roof within the next 60 seconds
The last step is control. Due to the special nature of rocket launches, they must be subject to stricter controls than aircraft. However, the development history of drone delivery shows that the relaxation of control will first be carried out in pilot areas and then gradually expand. Rocket express delivery can also start from designated pilot areas and gradually expand to more areas.
Rocket express delivery, from imagination to reality?
Taobao said that through the "Baojian" program, Taobao hopes to promote the popularization of aerospace technology. Since the commercial aerospace era began in 2015, the country has strongly supported the development of commercial aerospace. This time it launched the "Baojian" program with Blue Arrow Aerospace, which is also a hope. Try to imagine promoting the civilianization of aerospace technology.
Some netizens who love technology believe that if Taobao's "Baojian" plan can be truly implemented in the future, it will not only help Alibaba fill the current market gap of high-end and high-time delivery, but also bring new benefits to users with special needs. They imagine that in the future, there will be no need to wait for the freshest food in the world, critically ill patients can be treated in time, industrial faults can be solved in time, and relief supplies can be delivered as soon as possible.
Although the "Baojian" plan is currently an April Fool's Day plan, 36Kr asked Taobao for confirmation. The official said that the "Baojian" plan does exist and does not rule out the possibility of participating in commercial aerospace in the future.
In fact, it is not difficult to understand if Taobao actually participates in commercial aerospace in the future. Amazon and its founder Bezos are the pioneers. As we all know, Amazon not only took the lead in building a drone logistics system, but founder Bezos also specifically became the Blue Origin company to develop commercial rockets. Today, Blue Origin has become one of the most watched companies in the global commercial aerospace field.
In addition, in the past few years, many of Alibaba’s April Fool’s Day ideas, such as facial recognition payment and VR online shopping, have also been applied and popularized to varying degrees as the technology matures.
The global rocket logistics system where thousands of arrows are fired (picture from "The Wandering Earth")
followed by launch site. Currently, all private rockets are launched from several fixed launch sites such as Jiuquan, and their launch capabilities are severely limited. However, the mobile "launch technology" of the Eighth Aerospace Academy has been successfully tested. Launches no longer need to be fixed at the launch site. Launches have become simpler and launch capabilities have been greatly improved.
Express delivery will be received on the roof within the next 60 seconds
The last step is control. Due to the special nature of rocket launches, they must be subject to stricter controls than aircraft. However, the development history of drone delivery shows that the relaxation of control will first be carried out in pilot areas and then gradually expand. Rocket express delivery can also start from designated pilot areas and gradually expand to more areas.
Rocket express delivery, from imagination to reality?
Taobao said that through the "Baojian" program, Taobao hopes to promote the popularization of aerospace technology. Since the commercial aerospace era began in 2015, the country has strongly supported the development of commercial aerospace. This time it launched the "Baojian" program with Blue Arrow Aerospace, which is also a hope. Try to imagine promoting the civilianization of aerospace technology.
Some netizens who love technology believe that if Taobao's "Baojian" plan can be truly implemented in the future, it will not only help Alibaba fill the current market gap of high-end and high-time delivery, but also bring new benefits to users with special needs. They imagine that in the future, there will be no need to wait for the freshest food in the world, critically ill patients can be treated in time, industrial faults can be solved in time, and relief supplies can be delivered as soon as possible.
Although the "Baojian" plan is currently an April Fool's Day plan, 36Kr asked Taobao for confirmation. The official said that the "Baojian" plan does exist and does not rule out the possibility of participating in commercial aerospace in the future.
In fact, it is not difficult to understand if Taobao actually participates in commercial aerospace in the future. Amazon and its founder Bezos are the pioneers. As we all know, Amazon not only took the lead in building a drone logistics system, but founder Bezos also specifically became the Blue Origin company to develop commercial rockets. Today, Blue Origin has become one of the most watched companies in the global commercial aerospace field.
In addition, in the past few years, many of Alibaba’s April Fool’s Day ideas, such as facial recognition payment and VR online shopping, have also been applied and popularized to varying degrees as the technology matures.
The global rocket logistics system where thousands of arrows are fired (picture from "The Wandering Earth")
