HELSINKI — China appears to have conducted structural verification tests on its new Long March 10A rocket, according to a coded update.
The China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT) posted an article July 14 which provides details of a complex ground testing campaign designed to test the structure of a rocket under dynamic and static loads.
The CALT update was technically detailed but intentionally unspecific about the rocket in question. It does, however, state the challenges and complexities of human spaceflight and note the goal of reaching the moon as a dream held for thousands of years by Chinese cultural imagination. State-owned CALT is known to be the developer of China’s Long March 10 series for human spaceflight.
“The multi-machine dynamic-static combined test effectively solved the nonlinear transmission problem under combined loads, marking a major innovation in both test methodology and capability,” the update read, according to a machine translation.
The statement indicates that CALT has moved beyond design and simulation to full-scale structural testing of critical systems, including cryogenic tank stresses and stage separation loads, for a new rocket, likely the Long March 10 rocket series. It suggests that complex interactions between static structural stress and dynamic forces, such as those encountered during launch or stage separation, have been successfully modeled and validated through physical testing.
The indirect update appears to show progress towards integrated systems testing and production of flight hardware. A previous update in November 2024 stated the Long March 10A is scheduled for a test flight in 2026. A static fire test using three YF-100K engines was successfully conducted in June 2024.
The two-stage 67.4-meter-long, 5.0-meter-diameter Long March 10A is being developed to launch a variant of a new generation crew spacecraft, named Mengzhou, to the Tiangong space station in low Earth orbit, as well as launching cargo missions. Its first stage will use seven YF-100K engines.
The three-core Long March 10 is meanwhile being developed to put astronauts on the moon before 2030. The three-stage Long March 10 lunar variant will be 92 meters long and be able to launch 27 tons into trans-lunar orbit.
Two Long March 10 launches will be used to get astronauts to the moon and back. One will launch a crew spacecraft, named Mengzhou, and another will launch the lunar lander stack, named Lanyue. The two spacecraft stacks will rendezvous in lunar orbit.
Last month, a pad abort test for Mengzhou spacecraft was conducted at Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, northwest China. Meanwhile, a pad for the Long March 10 is under construction at Wenchang, Hainan island. NASA’s Artemis 3 moon landing mission is currently scheduled for mid 2027.