Preparation for the maiden flight of China's reusable rocket Zhuque-3 has entered a critical phase after the completion of joint fueling drills and static ignition tests from Saturday to Monday.
The successful tests also laid the groundwork for the rocket's official launch and first-stage recovery later this year.
With a diameter of 4.5 meters and a total length of around 66 meters, the Zhuque-3 rocket can carry up to 18 satellites per launch, making it an ideal choice for launching satellites for large-scale constellation networks.
Equipped with landing legs and grid fins for controlled descent, the rocket is designed to vertically recover its most expensive component -- the first stage, which accounts for 70 percent of the total rocket cost.
As its first stage is designed to be reused at least 20 times, the rocket has the potential to reduce launch costs by 80 to 90 percent compared with single-use rockets.
Powered by a parallel cluster of nine liquid oxygen-methane engines, the first-stage can achieve meter-level landing precision, as five of the engines are capable of gimballing.
In addition, these engines produce a combined thrust of more than 7,500 kilonewtons, setting a new record for Chinese commercial liquid-fueled rockets.
LandSpace, the rocket's developer, is a leading Chinese private space company.
Maiden flight preparation for China's reusable rocket Zhuque-3 enters critical phase
Japanese protesters gathered outside the Prime Minister’s Office in Tokyo on Monday, voicing opposition to proposed revisions to three security documents.
The demonstration came the same day Japan’s government held its first expert panel meeting at the Prime Minister’s Office to discuss updates to the three documents, including the National Security Strategy.
Protesters said the government is taking steps they view as dangerous, including easing restrictions on the export of lethal weapons and seeking changes to Japan’s pacifist constitution.
"The export of lethal weapons in itself violates the constitution. From the beginning, they should never have had such weapons. So it is absolutely something we can not allow,” said one protester.
"This will evolve into a situation where wars can be constantly launched, thereby leading to the spread of war. That’s why I believe this is absolutely unacceptable. Since we cannot stop the weapons industry, they’ll try to start wars to keep it going. Profiting from weapons is absolutely not allowed and this itself also violates Article 9 of the constitution, so it must not be done," another protester warned.
Several protesters also argued that amending the constitution is unacceptable.
"I believe amending the constitution is absolutely not allowed. I think we have been able to live in peace until now because the constitution exists. With excuses like ‘the times have changed’, they’re trying to change it casually, turning our country, which has long taken an anti-war stance, toward war. Anyone can clearly see that intention. So I believe we must firmly oppose it," said a man.
"I feel an extremely strong sense of crisis. I also work in an educational institution. The children we have worked so hard to raise being sent to the battlefield - that is completely unacceptable," said a woman.
Japan's current National Security Strategy and two related documents, formulated in 2022, were designed to cover the next 10 years, but the government led by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has decided to move up the timetable to accelerate the revision process.
Increasing defense spending is one of the key topics of the meeting.
The expert panel will meet once a month before finalizing a proposal around the fall, after which Takaichi's cabinet aims to approve the revision by year-end.
Japanese protesters rally against proposed revisions to three security documents
