Be smart, SpaceX! The Chinese are coming with their own recoverable launch vehicle!
Hello, readers! Last week, news about the successful test of a Chinese rocket capable of landing like SpaceX's Falcon 9 was widely circulated in the press and social media. The chinese company Linkspace presented a video showing a 300 meters jump of its recoverable launch vehicle prototype: the RLV-T5. See the video below: According SpaceNews(.com) " A full test flight of the NewLine-1 orbital launcher, to be capable of carrying 200 kilograms to a 500 kilometer sun-synchronous orbit (SSO), is planned for 2021.". With the advertised payload and orbit capabilities, we cannot classify this LV as a direct opponent of the legendary Falcon 9 , but, considering the advanced TRL (Technology Readiness Level) of this prototype, we should soon see a first competitor to challenge SpaceX's hegemony in this field of "suicide-burn" recoverable rockets. You can read more details about this notice here: https://spacenews.com/chinese-linkspace-reaches-300-meters-with-lau