/sci/ - Science & Math

Yesterday I made a post about Space Pioneer's press release on their new Zhangjiagang facility, which is intended to produce 30 rockets and 500 engines per year.
http://www.spacepioneer.cc/news/detail/121

It was pointed out that it seems to have not many parking spaces for that production volume (depending on the availability of public transportation in Zhangjiagang). So I searched around a bit more to find out exactly how much of the value chain this facility is supposed to be responsible for. The press release mentioned testing and assembly. It also mentioned welding and machining (机加 abbreviation of 机械加工), and I got the impression that they machine parts and weld a lot of stuff together. But apparently pretty much the whole rocket is delivered from Tianjin to Zhangjiagang in a structurally almost complete state. Essentially, they've shifted final integration and testing from Tianjin to Zhangjiagang.

Sources
https://www.sohu.com/a/733587090_121448078
https://news.2500sz.com/doc/2024/02/26/1066291.shtml

Video of a visit at the Zhangjiagang facility. In the main assembly hall is pretty much an entire TL-2 rocket body, that he says was just recently unpacked. He then talks to a guy assembling a TL-3 first stage safety relief valve. Facility manager Tian Weifeng mentions that the TL-3 first launch this July is to be followed by two TL-3 launches for paying customers in September and November.
https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1TQ4y1c73c

Other stuff I read:
* TL-3 is especially intended for megaconstellation deployment, and can carry 30+ satellites
* The intent is to reach a 30/year cadence within 3 years of TL-3 first launch (i.e. 2027), which seems pretty ambitious
* Although TL-3 will use the new universal pad in Hainan, a TL-3 pad is also being built at Jiuquan

>>16079476
There's some more around the back. I've no idea what the public transport situation is in Zhangjiagang.