Mengzhou In-Flight Abort Test Expected on February 11th
Efforts to recover the Long March 10A test booster may take place during the test too.
Work for Mengzhou’s (梦舟) in-flight abort test at the Wenchang Space Launch Site has continued over the past two weeks, with the capsule recently appearing at Launch Complex 301. The test is the last capsule-related development milestone ahead of a demonstration flight to the Tiangong Space Station, and later the Moon.
On February 3rd, tarps covering the top of the modified Long March 10 series static fire article1 (which I’m going to call the Long March 10A test booster going forward) were removed, revealing that it has four real grid fins installed along with hooks to possibly enable a booster recovery2. Not long after the tarp was removed, the Mengzhou capsule and its abort system were placed atop of it, without a dummy service module or boilerplate second-stage3. Once connections were confirmed to be secured, the integrated Mengzhou-Long March 10A test booster, both onboard a mobile launch platform, was rolled onto Launch Complex 301.
As hardware sits on the launch pad, hazard notices enabling them to fly have appeared too. Those notices prohibit aircraft and vessels from entering an approximately 40 by 40 kilometer area off the coast of Hainan (海南) province, which overlaps the Wenchang launch sites. The notices are currently filled for February 11th and run for four hours, from 10:51 am to 14:50 pm China Standard Time (02:51 am to 06:50 am Universal Coordinated Time).
Some test supporting vessels will be allowed within, or waiting just beyond, the area where the notices will be in effect. Just offshore will be an amphibious recovery ship in case Mengzhou escapes from the booster early on due to an anomaly, while the JiaHaiKe-7 (嘉海科7) and TanHai-9 (探海9) capsule recovery ships wait a safe distance away from the projected splashdown points. The autonomous Long March 10 series booster catching ship ‘Linghangzhe (领航者)’ will be well within the restricted areas for a potential booster catch of the test booster, following outfitting in January and delivery in November 2025. Other support ships are expected to participate as well.
While hardware and support vessels move into place, the China Manned Space Agency4 and the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology5 have yet to say anything regarding the test. However, the Xiaoxiang Morning Herald (潇湘晨报) learned on January 23rd, from the launch sites’ tourism branches, that any other launches from Wenchang were on hold to free up resources and personnel for the in-flight abort test, as manufacturers for Long March launch vehicles encourage their staff to wholly commit themselves to a test flight that was stated to be of great importance.
As the space agency and state-owned enterprise are yet to reveal any details, it’s unclear what the overall success criteria for the abort test is with the Long March 10A test booster, and if it is intended to be caught by ‘Linghangzhe’. Both organizations may be pleased with just performing the in-flight abort, having it escape from the booster at peak aerodynamic stress6 and splashing down afterwards. That may be what the Manned Space Agency is concerned with, while the Launch Vehicle Academy could be hoping to have the test booster in a recoverable state afterwards, either floating in the sea or hanging from the catch systems’ tensioned wires.
With a boilerplate remainder of the first-stage to make it the expected dimensions of the Long March 10A’s first-stage.
Onboard a now-ready ‘Linghangzhe’ drone ship.
It was previously theorized that a boilerplate second-stage and dummy service module would be included, as written in ‘Wenchang Appears to Be Preparing for Major Mengzhou Spacecraft Test’:
“[It] is being rumoured that a boilerplate second-stage, and the rest of the interstage, will be installed atop of the vehicle. That will then be added upon with a test Mengzhou capsule, an operational abort tower, and a mass-equivalent dummy service module.“
Concerned with the Mengzhou capsule.
Concerned with the Long March 10A test booster.
It’s also unclear when this would be, with the unknown mass of the boilerplate upper-section of first-stage, along with the lack of the second-stage and service module.