China repositioned itself as the Second Nation after US to launch SpaceX styled drone ship.

China has launched its first drone ship to recover reusable rockets, thus becoming only the second country after the United States to master the technology, as the nation surges forward with its ambitious space programme.

The launch of the new vessel marks a major step forward for China’s push to develop reusable rockets – a technology seen as vital to helping the country cut the cost of space travel and develop a commercial space industry. Beijing aims to catch up with the US in an intensifying space race by replicating America’s approach of combining state and private sector investment, which paved the way for Elon Musk’s SpaceX to drive a series of technological breakthroughs.

The new vessel, named the Xingji Guihang, or “Interstellar Return” – was developed by the Beijing-based private aerospace firm iSpace, and it will eventually be used to recover reusable rockets developed by several Chinese manufacturers.

“The vessel is designed for the launch of iSpace’s SQX-3 rocket later this year”, the company said in an article published on Tuesday. “In the future, it will also be compatible with sea recovery missions for various medium-to-large reusable rockets”. Like SpaceX’s drone ships, the iSpace vessel is equipped with a dynamic positioning system and can operate autonomously. It has a recovery deck area of 2,400 square metres – large enough to fit a returning first-stage rocket booster. Rocket recovery vessels are designed to retrieve rocket parts like first-stage boosters after launch and then transport them for analysis and reuse, helping companies reduce launch costs.

According to iSpace, the new ship can handle heavy loads and precisely position itself to capture returning rocket parts even in rough seas. It was built and launched in Yangzhou, Jiangsu province, where it will now undergo testing before being sent down the Yangtze River to the coast and then on to Hainan province for delivery in October.

Normally, missions with lighter payloads will return to the launch site, but those with heavier payloads or requiring higher velocity often do not have enough fuel for a return and instead rely on a recovery vessel to dock with the booster at sea. The technology was originally developed by SpaceX, which successfully recovered its Falcon 9 rocket booster using a drone ship for the first time in 2015.

The US company now has a fleet of three drone ships along with several smaller auxiliary vessels. Last year, it recovered the booster of its Starship mega-rocket for the first time. All these days the US remained the only country worldwide to possess rocket recovery

The iSpace’s project also received investment from a firm affiliated with the state-owned Chengdu Industrial Investment Group.

Team Maverick