JAXA on Keeping Up with the Xi's...

from Google AI:

On July 11, 2026, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) successfully conducted the first flight and vertical landing test of its RV-X (Reusable Vehicle eXperiment) prototype rocket. The trial took place early in the morning at the Noshiro Rocket Testing Center located in Akita Prefecture, northeastern Japan.

The sub-minute test marks a major breakthrough for Japan as it enters the vertical takeoff and vertical landing (VTVL) arena to drastically cut future space mission costs.

Key Flight Statistics

• Flight Duration: Approximately 40 to 55 seconds.
• Maximum Altitude: Climbed to about 11 meters (36 feet).
• Lateral Movement: Traveled 16 meters (52 feet) horizontally before executing its touchdown.
• Stability: Maintained a perfectly upright position under full autonomous engine control throughout the maneuver.

Vehicle Specifications

• Dimensions: Standing 7.3 meters (23.9 feet) tall with a diameter of 1.8 meters (5.9 feet).
• Propulsion: Powered by a highly durable Liquid Oxygen / Liquid Hydrogen (LOX/LH2) engine that underwent 165 combustion tests prior to the flight.
• Landing Gear: Equipped with four shock-absorbing legs to manage the touchdown impacts.
• Development: Co-developed alongside Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.

Future Roadmap

The data collected during this short-hop flight will be integrated into the design of Callisto, a larger reusable vehicle currently being co-developed by Japan, France, and Germany. JAXA plans to systematically expand flight parameters, targeting altitudes up to 100 meters in subsequent tests. The long-term objective is to introduce a fully operational reusable flagship launch fleet by the 2030s to replace the currently single-use H3 rocket.

Engine Configuration of the RV-X

The RV-X prototype relies on a highly specialized engine configuration designed explicitly for the extreme thermal and mechanical demands of repeated vertical takeoff and landing (VTVL) operations.

• Propellant Combo: Uses Liquid Oxygen (LOX) and Liquid Hydrogen (LH2), mirroring the clean-burning fuel setup of Japan's core flagship rockets.
• Thrust Throttleability: Engineered to dynamically throttle its thrust output, allowing the vehicle to hover precisely and slow down to a gentle halt just meters above the ground.
• Extreme Reusability: Prior to the actual free-flight test, this specific engine architecture underwent 165 rigorous combustion tests to prove it could ignite, burn, and shut down repeatedly without structural degradation.
• Aerodynamic Control: The engine nozzle integrates advanced gimbaling systems to vector thrust dynamically, providing the primary stability control that kept the vehicle upright during its 16-meter horizontal shift.

The CALLISTO Project Parameters

The insights gained from the Noshiro RV-X hops feed directly into CALLISTO (Cooperative Action Leading to Launch System Innovation for Stage Toss-back Operations). This is an international venture between JAXA (Japan), CNES (France), and DLR (Germany).

• The Core Objective: To build, fly, and recover a highly complex, reusable suborbital vehicle to master the flight mechanics, software algorithms, and ground operations required for a commercial-scale reusable first stage.
• Vehicle Scale: Significantly larger and faster than the RV-X, CALLISTO is designed to break the sound barrier, perform complex aerodynamic maneuvers at high altitudes, and return to a designated landing pad.

Division of Labor:

JAXA: Leading the development of the LOX/LH2 propulsion system (scaling up the tech proven by RV-X) and the onboard fuel tanks.

CNES: Designing the ground control center, launch pad infrastructure, and overall system flight safety architectures.

DLR: Responsible for the complex aerodynamic control surfaces (such as the fins used to steer through the atmosphere), the landing gear mechanics, and wind tunnel data analysis.

Operational Goal: The vehicle will execute a sequence of test flights returning to the Guiana Space Centre in Kourou, French Guiana, paving the way for Europe and Japan to field cost-effective, reusable heavy-lift rockets by the 2030s.

Me and My Markov Blanket

Success! China Launches & Recovers its' Long March 10B Rocket

from Google AI:

The Long March 10B (CZ-10B) is a medium-lift, partially reusable two-stage rocket operated by Chinarocket Co., Ltd., a commercial subsidiary of the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT). On July 10, 2026, the rocket made global history during its maiden flight. It successfully delivered its satellite payload into orbit and accomplished China's first-ever successful recovery of an orbital-class rocket booster.

The Historic Net-Based Recovery System

Unlike the vertical ground and autonomous drone ship landings pioneered by companies like SpaceX, the Long March 10B utilizes a world-first marine net-capture system.

• The Mechanism: Instead of deploying heavy landing legs, the first-stage booster is built with structural "landing hooks" near its top.
• The Ship: After separating from the second stage, the booster performed a controlled, propulsive descent downrange onto a specialized floating platform named the LingHangZhe (Navigator).
• The Catch: Tensioned, moving cables on the ship's structural frame automatically adjusted to snare the rocket's hooks, absorbing its remaining energy for a soft landing.
• The Advantage: Catching the booster via wires avoids the severe stress of a hard structural landing and eliminates the heavy weight and aerodynamic drag of traditional landing legs.

Rocket Specifications & Design

According to official details tracked on platforms like Next Spaceflight, the Long March 10B is structured as a mixed-propellant vehicle:

• Dimensions: Measures 63 meters in height and 5 meters in diameter.
• First Stage: Inherited directly from the crewed Long March 10A. It is powered by seven YF-100K staged-combustion engines burning kerosene and liquid oxygen (kerolox), outputting roughly 8,700 kilonewtons of thrust.
• Second Stage: Powered by a single YF-219 engine utilizing liquid methane and liquid oxygen (methalox). This marked the first flight test of this specific engine.
• Payload Capacity: Capable of lofting at least 16 metric tons to Low Earth Orbit (LEO) in its reusable configuration.

Strategic Purpose & Future Plans

The development of the Long March 10B serves two primary strategic goals for China's expanding space program:

• Commercial Competitiveness: Designed to provide highly cost-effective, routine launch services for commercial satellite constellations.
• Lunar Program Precursor: It acts as the "younger sibling" to the crewed Long March 10A. Flight data gathered by the 10B directly validates the recovery, guidance, and engine technologies needed for the heavier, three-core Long March 10. The main Long March 10 is central to China's objective of landing astronauts on the Moon by 2030.

State media reported that the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) is already inspecting the recovered first stage with plans to re-fly the exact same booster before the end of 2026.