According to the China Manned Space Engineering Office, on February 11th, China successfully organized the low altitude demonstration and verification of the Long March 10 carrier rocket system and the maximum dynamic pressure escape flight test of the Mengzhou manned spacecraft system at the Wenchang Space Launch Site. This experiment is another developmental flight test organized and implemented by China, following the Long March 10 carrier rocket's tethered ignition, the Dreamboat manned spacecraft's zero altitude escape flight, and the comprehensive verification of the lunar lander's landing and takeoff. It marks an important breakthrough in China's manned lunar exploration project development work. At 11:00, the ground test command center issued the ignition command, and the rocket ignited and took off, reaching the maximum dynamic pressure escape condition of the spacecraft. The spacecraft received the escape command from the rocket and successfully implemented separation and escape. The first stage rocket body and spacecraft return capsule are safely splashed into the designated sea area according to the controlled program. At 12:20, the maritime search and rescue team completed the mission of searching and retrieving the return capsule. It is understood that this experiment is the first ignition flight of the Long March 10 carrier rocket in its initial state, the first maximum dynamic pressure escape test of a spacecraft in China, the first manned spacecraft return capsule and rocket first stage body splashing at sea in China, and the first ignition flight test mission carried out at the newly built launch station of Wenchang Space Launch Site. The experiment successfully verified the functional performance of the rocket's first stage ascent and recovery stages, as well as the maximum dynamic pressure escape and recovery of the spacecraft. It also verified the compatibility of the relevant interfaces of various engineering systems, accumulating valuable flight data and engineering experience for subsequent manned lunar exploration missions. What exactly was done in this experiment? Experts from the Fifth and First Institutes of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation gave presentations. The maximum dynamic pressure escape of spacecraft: challenging the most adverse aerodynamic environment. Deng Kaiwen from the Fifth Academy of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation introduced that the Mengzhou spacecraft is China's new generation of manned space shuttle after the Shenzhou spacecraft, mainly serving space station engineering and manned lunar exploration engineering in the future. According to different missions, the Dreamboat spacecraft is divided into two types: the near Earth version and the lunar version. The near Earth version mainly focuses on reuse, while the lunar version will be equipped with a more powerful power section in the service module to achieve ground to moon transfer. Compared to the Shenzhou spacecraft, the return capsule of the Mengzhou spacecraft has a larger volume and can transport up to 7 people back and forth in low Earth orbit. It also has stronger orbit and attitude control capabilities, as well as stronger solar wing power generation capabilities. In addition, in the event of a rocket malfunction, the Shenzhou spacecraft is managed by the rocket escape tower for escape and the spacecraft for rescue; The escape tower of the Dream Boat spaceship is a part of the spaceship, so the spaceship is responsible for escape and rescue. bsp; The escape and rescue system of manned spacecraft is an important life support for astronauts. Within the atmosphere, the Dreamboat spacecraft will use the escape tower escape mode. On June 17, 2025, China successfully conducted a zero altitude escape flight test for the Dreamboat spacecraft, essentially selecting an extreme working condition of zero altitude and zero velocity. The maximum dynamic pressure escape flight test this time is a consideration of another extreme operating condition. Deng Kaiwen said that when a rocket flies for more than 60 seconds and breaks through the speed of sound, it will encounter a maximum dynamic pressure point. This dynamic pressure point is related to air density and flight speed, and occurs at an altitude of about 11 kilometers, with the most adverse aerodynamic conditions. Under these conditions, conducting escape flight tests requires the spacecraft to face multiple risks such as supersonic aerodynamic disturbances, significant interference from escape flight control and separation, and rocket loss of control. At the same time, the time window for escape decision-making and execution is very short. After the escape signal is issued, a series of intensive actions must be quickly completed, with nearly a hundred instructions and actions concurrent within 1 second. This has high requirements for the response speed and reliability of the escape system. Deng Kaiwen introduced that during the escape and rescue process, the escape tower attitude control engine and return cabin engine are controlled by the computer in the spacecraft's return capsule, and the spacecraft's attitude is controlled during separation to create favorable conditions for parachute deployment. The two escape flight tests we planned were evaluated in real flight from zero altitude and maximum dynamic pressure conditions, which closed the loop of the escape mode within 120 kilometers and verified the two most important factors of the test, "said Deng Kaiwen. Rocket low altitude flight test: Key breakthroughs in four key technologies. For the low altitude demonstration and verification of the Long March 10 carrier rocket system, Zhu Pingping from the First Academy of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation called it an "unprecedented challenge". Although we named this mission 'Low Altitude Flight Test', its technical difficulty and flight altitude far exceed the literal meaning of 'low altitude', "he said. It is reported that the experiment mainly faces three challenges. Firstly, although only the first stage of the rocket was flown in conjunction with the Dreamboat spacecraft in this experiment, the maximum flight altitude of the rocket reached 105 kilometers, breaking through the "Carmen Line" and reaching the first stage flight altitude for future official missions. This means that the rocket will enter the near space environment and face complex aerodynamic and thermal environmental challenges. At the same time, the experiment includes a complete 'return profile', with maximum heat flux and dynamic pressure at the highest level currently in China. In the return phase, the rocket needs to withstand extreme high temperatures and aerodynamic loads, which imposes strict requirements on the rocket structure, thermal protection system, and attitude control. In addition, this mission achieved the first combination of "maximum dynamic pressure escape during ascent" and "return profile" flight internationally. Zhu Pingping said that this "rise return" integrated verification is the ultimate test of the global control capability of rocket systems, and there is no precedent in the international aerospace field. For this experiment, the rocket team focused on breaking through four key technologies. One is intelligent health monitoring and thrust regulation. Technicians have equipped the rocket with a "smart brain" that can evaluate the health status of key equipment such as engines in real time during takeoff; In the ascending phase, it precisely adjusts the engine thrust to ensure that the maximum dynamic pressure test conditions of the spacecraft are met, accumulating key data for subsequent missions; The second is the high-altitude secondary start and hovering ignition of the engine. The return phase requires two engine restarts. The first is a high-altitude restart to achieve orbit adjustment, and the second is a hovering ignition before landing to lay the foundation for precise recovery. This has extremely high requirements for engine reliability, fuel management, and ignition timing control; The third is innovative recycling models and simulation verification. Different from traditional landing leg recovery, this experiment adopts the "net recovery mode". Zhu Pingping introduced that considering the risk control of the first experiment, the rocket was pre fabricated and simulated to land at a sea level of about 200 meters next to the recovery ship. Through the interaction of rocket ship information, the recovery platform was driven to simulate the capture action, in order to evaluate the matching degree between the rocket and the recovery system and accumulate experience for subsequent actual recovery; The fourth is thermal protection and structural design in extreme environments. In response to the challenges of the largest heat flow and dynamic pressure in China, we have optimized the thermal protection materials and structural layout of the arrow body to ensure the stability of the return section arrow body in high temperature and high pressure environments, "said Zhu Pingping. (New Society)