[Reading Science] Global Hegemony Battle US·China "'Strongest Rocket Ever' Me First"

Image. Source=Korea Federation of Science and Technology Societies.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] The United States and China, which have begun a global hegemony competition in various fields such as economy and military power, are also competing for the title of the "most powerful rocket ever" for space development.

The United States is developing the "Space Launch System (SLS)," the most powerful space launch vehicle ever created. It is part of the Artemis program, a lunar exploration project that has been prepared over the past decade. NASA unveiled the completed SLS for the first time on the 13th, marking the final stages of development. The SLS consists of a 65-meter-tall liquid-fueled engine system called the Core Stage, with two 54-meter-long solid rocket boosters (SRBs) attached to both sides. The SLS is expected to carry the manned capsule "Orion," the lunar lander used in the Artemis project.

NASA boasts that the SLS has the most powerful thrust ever achieved by a space launch vehicle. According to the specifications released by NASA, the SLS stands 98 meters tall, slightly shorter than the 110-meter Saturn V rocket used in the Apollo lunar exploration program of the 1960s and 1970s, but it generates more than 15% stronger thrust. NASA stated that the SLS has a payload capacity of over 27 tons, making it more than 3 tons stronger than SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket, which can carry 24 tons.

After a successful ground combustion test in March, the SLS is scheduled for its first launch by the end of this year, followed by missions in 2024 to transport lunar landers, build lunar bases, and conduct manned Mars landings. Although NASA had the blueprints for the F-1 engine used in the Saturn V, it was practically impossible to reproduce it exactly due to all the manual work involved, so in 2014, NASA decided to develop a new rocket engine and began the SLS development.

China has also entered the competition, aiming to build a "super rocket" that surpasses the SLS. Having recently launched the Tianhe space station module and pushing forward with lunar base construction, China is developing a powerful new rocket engine capable of carrying heavy cargo into space. Currently, China operates the Long March 5 rocket, which can carry about 25 tons to low Earth orbit. Accordingly, the China National Space Administration aims to develop the Long March 9, a super heavy-lift launch vehicle capable of transporting approximately 140 tons to low Earth orbit by 2030.

In March, China successfully test-fired an engine producing 500 tons of thrust, about four times more powerful than existing engines. If completed, this super engine will be the third most powerful in history, following the Saturn V's F-1 engine (690 tons) and Russia's Buran shuttle's RD-170 engine (740 tons). China plans to use a total of 12 of these engines on the first stage and boosters of the Long March 9, producing a total thrust of 6,000 tons, sufficient to handle the Long March 9's launch weight of 4,400 tons.

According to the design, the Long March 9 will have a cargo capacity far superior to the U.S. SLS and, like the Saturn V, will be able to carry more than 50 tons in a single launch, enabling lunar exploration with just one launch. China plans to use this rocket for manned lunar exploration, base construction, and Mars exploration missions.