Private Chinese company launch methane-liquid oxygen rocket into space
Methane Liquid rocket launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in northwest China and successfully completed its flight as intended.
LandSpace, a Beijing-based company that was among the first in China commercial launch industry, made a second effort to launch the Zhuque-2. December saw an unsuccessful initial effort.
China now leads US competitors, including Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin, in the race to launch carrier vehicles powered by methane, which is regarded as less polluting, safer, cheaper, and a viable propellant in a reusable rocket.
LandSpace launched a liquid-fueled rocket, becoming the second privately held Chinese business to do it. A step closer to creating refuellable and reusable rockets was made in April with the successful launch of a kerosene-oxygen rocket by Beijing Tianbing Technology.
Since the government allowed private investment in the field in 2014, Chinese commercial space businesses have flocked to the industry. LandSpace was one of the first and most well-funded contestants.
With this launch, there will be 108 satellites in orbit, with 300 expected by 2025, allowing for daily close-up imagery of the Earth’s surface.
The majority of the batch was made up of the newest Gaofen 06A satellites, which were substantially lighter and less expensive than their predecessors.
