The Chinese Space Corporation reported on the successful launch of Tianlong-2. This is the world’s first rocket, the liquid fuel for which is obtained not from oil, but from coal.

What is known

The launch vehicle was developed by the private company Space Pioneer. The launch took place in the middle of spring this year. Tianlong-2 is equipped with YF-102 engines that run on kerosene-oxygen steam. The power plant was developed by the 6th Academy of Aerospace Science and Technology.

Space Pioneer has conducted more than 300 fire tests of the new engine. The total duration of the tests was more than 1000 minutes. The new power plant will be used in rockets from other companies.

Coal liquefaction is not the latest technology. Chinese experts turned to her because local oil is not available in large quantities and is not of high quality. In addition, in the event of a conflict with Taiwan, oil supplies to China will be virtually guaranteed to be blocked.

Now the Chinese industry is capable of producing no more than 5,000 tons of kerosene from coal annually. In two years, volumes will increase six times, but even 30,000 tons / year will not be enough to cover the oil shortage. However, the launch of Tianlong-2 proved that the idea of ​​using fuel from coal is not a utopia.

Source: scmp