In recent years, Academician Long Lehao has been the focus of aerospace enthusiasts because he often reveals some blockbuster information in the aerospace field. The most talked about is the Long March 9 heavy rocket. As research progresses, its development configuration will change or be adjusted every few years.
Last year, the welding of the 9.5-meter-diameter bottom ring of China's first heavy-duty launch vehicle was completed.
This year, Academician Long Lehao directly presented two versions of the Long March 9. One is the "22 version three-stage tandem configuration" of the Long March 9, and the other is a two-stage version aiming to first fly before 2035. A new heavy-lift rocket that is completely reusable in series (let’s call it the “35 version”).
There were two versions before this, namely version 11 of the three-level semi-configuration and version 21 of the three-level configuration.
11 version of the "three-level and a half configuration" Long March 9 renderings
Some people ridiculed that this is too fickle.
However, this is not the case, because the Long March 9 is not just the Long March 9. As early as 5 years ago, Zhang Zhi, chief model engineer of the First Academy of Aerospace Science and Technology, disclosed that the development of heavy-duty launch vehicles is divided into three stages:
The first stage is to complete the development tasks of a series of configuration modules and realize the first flight of the heavy-duty launch vehicle ; The second phase of
will further improve the serial configuration of the heavy rocket , put it into use for launch, and use reuse technology to reduce costs; the third phase of
will use new power and new materials to further improve the capabilities and technical level of heavy rockets.
Heavy-duty launch vehicle large-diameter structural parts
The current Long March 9 rocket is scheduled to fly for the first time in 2030, and the two-stage fully reusable version will be before 2035. It can be said that the several versions disclosed by Academician Long Lehao can completely correspond to the three-stage target of the heavy rocket we planned five years ago.
Therefore, this is not a fickle thing, but it is developing completely in accordance with the tone set by myself many years ago.
11 version of the Long March 9 third-stage semi-configuration design:
The first stage is equipped with four YF-130 liquid oxygen and kerosene engines, and each of the four boosters is equipped with two YF-130 liquid oxygen and kerosene engines. The total thrust of the take-off stage is 5873 tons; the second sub-stage of
is equipped with two YF-90 hydrogen and oxygen engines; the third sub-stage of
is equipped with four YF-79 high-altitude hydrogen and oxygen engines; the total length of the
rocket is 103 meters, the diameter of the first sub-stage is 9.5 meters, and the second sub-stage liquid The diameter of the hydrogen fuel tank section is 9.5 meters, the diameter of the rocket body of the liquid oxygen tank section is 7.5 meters, the diameter of the third-stage rocket body is 7.5 meters, and the maximum take-off mass is 4137 tons.
11 version of the "three-level semi-configuration" Long March 9
low-Earth orbit transport capacity is 140 tons, the Earth-to-Moon transfer orbit has a transport capacity of 50 tons, and the Earth-to-fire transfer orbit has a transport capacity of 44 tons. These three data are all conservative projections.
summary: The three-level and semi-configuration of version 11 is quite satisfactory, and it is a steady and steady type.
21 version of the Long March 9 three-stage series configuration:
The first stage is equipped with 16 YF-135 360-ton liquid oxygen kerosene engines;
The second stage is equipped with 4 120-ton hydrogen-oxygen engines ;
The three-stage configuration A 120-ton high-altitude hydrogen and oxygen engine; the
rocket has a total length of 108 meters, a maximum diameter of 10.6 meters, a take-off mass of 4122 tons, a take-off thrust of 5873 tons, a two-stage series configuration low-Earth orbit transport capacity of 150 tons, and an earth-moon transfer orbit transport capacity of 53 Ton.
21 version of the "three-stage series configuration" Long March 9
Summary: The 21 version of the three-stage configuration has better capacity performance than the 11th version of the configuration. The multi-engine parallel design of the first stage takes into account the recovery and recovery of the first stage. use.
22 version of the Long March 9 three-stage series configuration:
first stage is equipped with 26 200-ton liquid oxygen methane engines;
second stage is equipped with 4 120-ton hydrogen and oxygen engines;
third stage is equipped with 1 120-ton high-altitude engine Hydrogen-oxygen engine; the
rocket has a total length of 110 meters, a maximum diameter of 10.6 meters, a take-off mass of 4122 tons, and a take-off thrust of 5200 tons. The low-Earth orbit transport capacity is 150 tons, and the Earth-to-Moon transfer orbit transport capacity is 50 tons.
summary: Compared with the 21 version, the significant difference between the 22 version of the Long March 9 is that the first sub-stage is replaced with liquid oxygen methane power. Compared with the liquid oxygen kerosene power, it has better reusability advantages, but this configuration is still mainly Focus on takeoff stage reuse.
Liquid oxygen methane engine has no coking and less carbon deposits than liquid oxygen kerosene engine. The picture shows a 500-ton liquid oxygen kerosene engine.
35 version of Long March 9 adopts a two-stage series configuration:
This configuration rocket is divided into two series with a diameter of 5 meters and a diameter of 10 meters. The low-Earth orbit transport capacity covers 5 to 150 tons, and the sun-synchronous orbit transport capacity covers 4 to 14 tons. The geosynchronous transfer orbit has a transportation capacity of 7 to 65 tons, and the cis-lunar transfer orbit has a transportation capacity of 50 tons. The configuration of the
35 version is in line with the development goals of the third phase of the Long March 9. It has been fully updated to be powered by liquid oxygen and methane suitable for reusable missions. It is a two-stage fully reusable launch vehicle and is expected to be reused 50 to 100 times. , can be called the "Chinese version of starship".
"Thirty years of the Army, fifty years of the Air Force, and one hundred years of the Navy." If this famous saying in the military fan circle is applied to the aerospace field, it would be "a hundred years of aerospace."
The development of the Saturn V heavy-lift rocket that launched the Apollo 17 lunar landing spacecraft has never happened overnight. Half a century ago, when the other side of the ocean used the Saturn V heavy-lift rocket to launch the nearly 50-ton Apollo manned lunar landing spacecraft, We have not even launched a low-Earth orbit satellite weighing less than 1 ton. Half a century later, we are now firmly in the second place in the world's aerospace industry, and the speed of development can be called a "miracle."
The Long March 5 Yaosi rocket that launched the Tianwen-1 Mars probe
The power products currently used in multiple Long March 9 versions have been developed:
YF-130 500-ton high-pressure supplementary combustion liquid oxygen kerosene engine has been implemented Gas generator- turbine pump joint test, high-pressure fuel swing device swing test, full working condition semi-system test, the first complete machine assembly, preparations for the first complete machine test are in progress;
The world's largest thrust with double nozzle configuration The 500-ton liquid oxygen kerosene engine is about to be put into trial operation.
YF-90 220-ton after-burning cycle hydrogen-oxygen engine has completed the assembly of the first engineering prototype and has achieved semi-system test run.
220-ton hydrogen-oxygen engine has been put into semi-system test run.
220 tons The first thrust chamber extrusion test of the YF-79 25-ton expansion cycle hydrogen-oxygen engine has been completed successfully; the thrust chamber extrusion test of the 25-ton high-altitude hydrogen-oxygen engine
can be applied to 35-ton high-altitude hydrogen-oxygen engine Development work has also begun on the 200-ton liquid oxygen methane engine for the Chinese Starship.
More than two years ago, the Long March 4B rocket tested the grid wings that can be used for vertical recovery and reuse of the rocket.
The new-generation manned launch vehicle that can serve manned lunar landing missions will be capable of manned flight around 2026. At the same time, its 70-ton low-Earth orbit transport capacity and one-stage reusability will effectively meet the requirements of various missions before 2035. Therefore, the Long March 9 model selection work can continue to be deepened.
Although aerospace development does not happen overnight, for us, when our capabilities are significantly improved, we can also make appropriate leap-forward development arrangements based on the actual situation. Just like the leap-forward development of the Fujian ship in the ocean field to the Liaoning ship The logic is the same as .
