Chinese commercial space company CAS Space has just completed a long-term qualifying test for Kinecore-2 engine, a liquid oxygen and kerosene engine with a thrust of 110 tons, designed for a reusable version of the Kinetica-2 (Lijian-2) rocket.
According to Xinhua, the engine operated continuously for 620 seconds, about 3.5 times longer than the actual flight time. In which, a burning lasting 400 seconds set a new record for the stability of this engine model.
The test simulated a series of harsh operating conditions such as prolonged high temperatures, high rotation speed, strong heat load and continuous vibration to assess the durability as well as reliability of the system.
Mr. Ming Aizhen - Deputy General Director of Energy Design Department of CAS Space said that prolonged testing is an important criterion to confirm that the engine can operate stably in all flight conditions and meet the requirements of multiple reuse.
The total accumulated reliability testing time of Kinecore-2 has now exceeded 2,000 seconds, creating a basis for mass production and deployment of regular launch missions in the future.
Kinecore-2 will be the main propulsion system for the reusable version of the Kinetica-2 missile as well as the larger payload variant of this missile line.
Kinetica-2 is China's first launch vehicle to apply the Consolidated Core (CBC) configuration, in which the core layer and side propellants use the same modular design to simplify the production and operation process.
The missile has the ability to put 8 tons of cargo on synchronous solar orbit at an altitude of 500 km or 12 tons on low Earth orbit at an altitude of 200 km.
In March this year, Kinetica-2 completed its first test flight, putting the Qingzhou prototype cargo ship and two satellites into a pre-determined orbit, marking a new step in China's next-generation space transport system.
