// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhat did BF-20 say to BF-21? You're one better.
| Country of origin | China |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | LandSpace |
| Status | In development |
| Liquid-fuel engine | |
| Propellant | LOX / CH4 |
| Mixture ratio | 3.6 (±8%) (adjustable) |
| Cycle | Full-flow staged combustion |
| Performance | |
| Thrust, vacuum | 2,366 kilonewtons (532,000 lbf) |
| Thrust, sea-level | 2,200 kilonewtons (490,000 lbf) |
| Throttle range | 40%~120% |
| Chamber pressure | 26 MPa (3,800 psi) |
| Specific impulse, vacuum | 353.16s |
| Specific impulse, sea-level | 328.47s |
| Used in | |
| ZQ-3 | |
| References | |
| Notes | [1] |
The BF-20 (Chinese: 蓝焱-20; pinyin: Lányàn-20, lit. Blue Flame 20) is a full-flow staged combustion cycle rocket engine burning liquid methane and liquid oxygen under development by LandSpace.
History
[edit source]In 2021, LandSpace initiated the development of BF-20 for its Zhuque-3 rocket. As of 2024, the technical design of the engine has been completed, and a hot fire test is scheduled for 2025, with the goal of achieving flight readiness by 2027.[2][3]
The engine conducted its first full-system test in May 2025.[4] By September 2025, it had completed thirty test firings, with thrust limited to 110 tons.[5] In March 2026, LandSpace announced that the engine had completed a full-system long-duration test and over one hundred full-system ignition tests in total.[4][6] The company noted that the SpaceX Raptor was the only other full-flow staged-combustion engine to have flown.[6]
References
[edit source]- ↑ Zhang, Xiaoping; Zhou, Yaqiang; Wei, Yan (2023-01-17). "Current State of LOX/Methane Engine Development - 液氧甲烷发动机发展现状". d.wanfangdata.com.cn (1): 126–133. doi:10.3969/j.issn.1674-5825.2023.01.017. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
- ↑ Guo, Songjiao; Zhang, Yuhong (24 April 2024). "蓝箭样本:可重复使用火箭缘何选择液氧甲烷?". finance.sina.cn. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
- ↑ Jones, Andrew (19 January 2024). "China's Landspace conducts first VTVL test for reusable stainless steel rocket". SpaceNews. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
- 1 2 "视频丨220吨级液氧甲烷火箭发动机"蓝焱"完成整机试车". China Central Television (in Chinese). 5 March 2026. Retrieved 3 August 2026.
- ↑ C., Jack (6 March 2026). "LandSpace's BF-20 Engine Reaches 220 Tons of Thrust in Latest Comprehensive Tests". China in Space. Retrieved 3 August 2026.
- 1 2 "新进展 | 蓝箭航天新型大推力发动机完成整机全系统长程试车". WeChat (in Chinese). LandSpace. 6 March 2026. Retrieved 3 August 2026.