Modular, universal design enables smoother production, launch of Lijian-2 rocket: designer

Modular and universal design enables smoother production and launch for Lijian-2 carrier rocket, said a designer as a Lijian-2 Y1 carrier rocket with three satellites onboard blasted off at 19:00 (Beijing Time) from a commercial aerospace innovation pilot zone in northwest China and sent the satellites into the planned orbit on Monday.

With a low Earth orbit payload capacity of 12 tonnes, the rocket is fully equipped to meet the demands of space station cargo missions. But for commercial spaceflight, high payload capacity alone is not enough. The Lijian-2 is able to deliver impressive performance thanks to the thoughtful design innovation.

A closer look at the Lijian-2 reveals that its core stage and two boosters appear nearly identical. This is no coincidence but a deliberate "universal" design known as the "universal booster core" configuration. This approach allows major components of the rocket to be mass-produced, significantly streamlining the manufacturing process.

"From the very beginning of its design, the Lijian-2 followed a philosophy of large quantity and mass production. That is why the appearance of the rocket’s units is highly similar. The biggest feature of this rocket is that the core stage and the boosters are designed to be identical in configuration," said Lian Jie, deputy chief designer of Lijian-2 carrier rocket of CAS Space, a commercial spaceflight company established by the Institute of Mechanics under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).

According to Lian, the greatest advantages of this design lie in its flexibility and efficiency. If a component encounters an issue, it can be quickly replaced like a standard part - a key feature that supports the development of high-frequency launch capability.

"If a problem occurs during the launch, we can quickly take a booster produced in the same batch to replace the faulty one, so as to ensure a smooth launch as scheduled," he said.

Modular, universal design enables smoother production, launch of Lijian-2 rocket: designer

Modular, universal design enables smoother production, launch of Lijian-2 rocket: designer

Construction of the fifth phase of Guangzhou Port's Nansha Port area, one of the major national projects, commenced in Nansha District of Guangzhou, the capital of south China's Guangdong Province, on Friday.

The project is designed with an annual container throughput capacity of 6.7 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units), according to the Guangzhou Port Group.

It has four deep-water berths, each capable of accommodating 200,000-ton container vessels, with a combined shoreline exceeding 3,800 meters.

Upon completion of the Phase V project, the total container throughput capacity of the Nansha Port area is expected to reach 35 million TEUs annually. This would place it among the world's leading single port complexes in terms of handling capacity, further solidifying Guangzhou's status as an international shipping hub.

Guangzhou's Nansha Port enters 5th phase of construction