【Haichuan Expands Horizons】Independent production of hydrogen fuel for the Long March 5 has been achieved!

Is it true that the hydrogen fuel for the Long March 5 is entirely imported, and that the French control the lifeline of China’s space program? Original post dated 2021-09-22 11:40 · Rabbit Yearning for the Sky. The Long March 5 is currently China’s most advanced liquid hydrogen/liquid oxygen rocket, and it plays a key role in the construction of China’s space station as well as in deep-space exploration efforts. The achievements of China’s space program inspire the hearts of all Chinese people. However, some foreign netizens pointed out sourly that the liquid hydrogen fuel used in the hydrogen-oxygen engine of the Long March 5 relies entirely on hydrogen production equipment supplied by the French company Air Liquide – \"As long as the French stop supplying it, the construction of the Chinese space station will have to be halted immediately.\" Is that really the case? Is it true that the hydrogen fuel for the Long March 5 is entirely imported, and that the French control the lifeline of China’s space program? Air Liquide’s liquid hydrogen transport vehicles: To answer this question first – yes, the Long March 5 does rely on equipment provided by Air Liquide for its liquid hydrogen fuel. However, on September 20, 2021, Institute 101 of the Sixth Academy of China Aerospace Science and Technology officially announced that China’s first hydrogen liquefaction system developed independently, with a production capacity of tons per unit, had been successfully tested and was now capable of continuous and stable operation. The bottleneck issue with liquid hydrogen fuel is now completely a thing of the past! Air Liquide and Long March 5: In 2008, Air Liquide became connected to China’s hydrogen energy industry through the Long March 5 space project, providing liquid hydrogen fuel for this rocket. The form of cooperation between the two parties is to establish Lanxing (Hainan) Aerospace Chemical Co., Ltd. in Wenchang City, Hainan Province, in China, to introduce Cryovac’s cryogenic tanks and related equipment. Is it true that the hydrogen fuel for the Long March 5 is entirely imported, and that the French control the lifeline of China’s space program? Lanxing Chemical: At present, Lanxing Aerospace possesses the largest liquid hydrogen production facilities in China in terms of scale and output, and it is the only company that provides fuel supply services for the Long March 5 and Long March 7 launch vehicles. Furthermore, compared to the 10 tons per day production rate of liquid hydrogen in mainland France, Blue Star Aerospace’s production rate is only 2 tons per day. Objectively speaking, the shortage of rocket fuel is indeed a real issue. In fact, among the major space-faring nations, aside from China, Russia is also constrained by liquid hydrogen fuel. Currently, the development of hydrogen-oxygen rocket engines in Russia is progressing slowly, mainly due to the fact that the industry related to liquid hydrogen for aerospace purposes is in a state of stagnation and is not capable of supporting large-scale aerospace projects that rely on hydrogen-oxygen rocket engines.

This post was last edited by Desert Fish on 2021-9-23 at 12:13. Since 2019, domestic space launch activities have increased significantly, leaving several domestic factories that produce hydrogen liquefaction equipment and rely on imported components struggling to keep up with the demand. At this time, Xi’an Jiaotong University and the Beijing Aerospace Test Institute announced that they are collaborating on the development of large-scale hydrogen liquefaction units as well as efficient hydrogen and helium turbine expanders. Furthermore, five improvement suggestions were put forward relative to the current international advanced level: 1) Design new types of efficient compressors and expanders ； 2) Use an efficient compressor with more stages and intercoolers to achieve isothermal compression ； 3) Use an expander in place of a throttle valve ； 4) Improve the efficiency of aluminum plate fin heat exchangers and reduce losses ； 5) Develop new hybrid refrigerant cycle processes. Finally, after more than a year of intensive efforts, hard work pays off. On September 20, 2021, the Beijing Aerospace Test and Research Institute officially announced that the country’s first hydrogen liquefaction production line had been completed and put into operation successfully.

The designed production capacity for liquid hydrogen is 1.7 tons per day, while the full-capacity production rate is 2.3 tons per day; over 90% of the technology is entirely domestically developed. Considering that the Long March 5 rocket requires 30 tons of hydrogen fuel per launch, one production line is able to meet the hydrogen fuel needs for one such launch within half a month. Not only that, but since there are no restrictions on the number of foreign equipment, expanding the hydrogen liquefaction production line becomes a simple task of copying and pasting. A major breakthrough in the key technologies for this task has enabled the complete domestic production of liquid hydrogen, with many technical parameters exceeding international advanced levels. We Chinese want to reach space, and no one should try to hold us back.

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