On July 1, Chinese commercial space company CAS Space successfully completed a long-term testing test for Kinecore-2, a liquid oxygen/petroleum fuel engine with a thrust of 110 tons, designed to provide energy for the reusable variant of the Kinetica-2 rocket, also known as Lijian-2.
The recent test has pushed the engine's ignition time to 620 seconds, about 3.5 times the actual flight time requirement. A single ignition lasts 400 seconds, setting a new stable record for this engine model, the missile developer based in Guangzhou told China Central Broadcasting Corporation (CMG) on June 30.
The engine was designed to serve as the main powertrain for reusable versions of both Kinetica-2 and its heavyweight variants. The rigorous test simulated extreme conditions, including sustained high temperatures, high rotation speeds, intense heat currents and continuous vibrations, in order to strictly assess the durability and performance of the engine.
The extended test is an important step in testing, verifying the engine's stable performance, fully covering flight conditions and proving a sufficient lifespan," said Ming Aizhen, deputy chief engineer of dynamic design at CAS Space.
The test provides in-depth verification of critical engine parameters and operating reliability, laying a solid foundation for future engineering and mass production. The total accumulated reliability testing time for Kinecore-2 has now exceeded 2,000 seconds.
Kinecore-2 has entered an important stage of the comprehensive reliability testing process. Mr. Ming said that once completed, this engine is expected to support regular high-frequency launches.
Kinetica-2 is China's first missile to adopt the Common Pumped Core (CBC) configuration, a modular missile design architecture in which the first stage and side boosters are identical in structure and function. This missile is capable of carrying up to 8 tons to the synchronous Sun orbit at an altitude of 500km, or 12 tons to the low Earth orbit at an altitude of 200km.
