China became the second country in the world, which introduces a sea platform for the return of reusable missiles. The private company iSpace introduced the Xingji Guihang drone ship (Interstellar Return), which should receive the first stages of rockets after landing on the sea. The introduction of this vessel is designed to reduce the cost of launches and accelerate the transition of Chinese private launch companies to full / partial reusability.
According to the developers, platform as long as approx 100 m and width 42 city, and the landing deck is approximately 40×60 m. The vessel is equipped with a dynamic positioning system of the DP2 class for accurate holding at a given point during the acceptance of the degree. iSpace reports, that Xingji Guihang is to support the return test of the first stage of the SQX-3 missile (Hyperbola-3) from orbit at the end 2025 year.
Independent profile media add, that the vessel has left the shipyard for refitting and is preparing for sea trials near Hainan in September. In terms of dimensions, it is slightly longer than the SpaceX platforms, and thanks to the large deck, it has a reserve of space for more massive steps. This is another indicator of that, that Chinese private startups are accelerating the transition to reusing degrees.
Sea landing of the first stages is the key to making regular launches of scientific instruments cheaper: telescopes, interplanetary probes, small satellites for astronomy and space weather. Each stage restored reduces the cost of the launch series and allows you to send missions more often, test new instruments and upgrade orbital observatories faster. For researchers, this means more "windows" for observations, more flexible schedules and greater participation of university and startup teams in space programs.
Source: https://universemagazine.com