RLV-T5 (NewLine Baby)
LinkSpace
Sub-scale VTVL reusable rocket technology demonstrator used by LinkSpace to validate powered descent and precision vertical landing.
Technical specifications
- Height
- 8.1 m
- Diameter
- 0.65 m
- Liftoff mass
- 1.5 metric tons
- Propulsion
- 5x variable-thrust ethanol / liquid-oxygen engines
- Max altitude achieved
- 300.2 m (Aug 9, 2019 flight)
- Flight duration
- 50 seconds
- Landing accuracy
- 0.07 m
- Test site
- Lenghu region, Qinghai province, China
About
RLV-T5, nicknamed “NewLine Baby”, is LinkSpace’s vertical takeoff/vertical landing (VTVL) technology demonstrator rocket. It is 8.1 meters tall, 0.65 meters in diameter, and has a liftoff mass of about 1.5 metric tons. The vehicle is powered by five variable-thrust rocket engines burning ethanol and liquid oxygen, a propellant combination historically used in the German V2 rocket.
RLV-T5 was flown in a series of untethered low-altitude hop-and-landing tests through 2019: a first test in March reaching roughly 20 meters, a second test on April 19 reaching 40 meters, and a third test on August 9, 2019 at a new test facility in the Lenghu region of Qinghai province, reaching an altitude of 300.2 meters during a 50-second flight and landing with an accuracy of 0.07 meters. These flights validated the guidance, navigation and control technology LinkSpace intends to use on its larger reusable orbital launch vehicles. Following RLV-T5, LinkSpace proceeded to the larger RLV-T6 suborbital demonstrator, targeting altitudes of around 100 km, ahead of development of the orbital NewLine-1 launcher.
Documentation
No public datasheet yet — request the datasheet / ICD from the supplier.
