China Successfully Launches First Methane-powered Rocket to Earth Orbit | CGTN
China's ZhuQue-2 has become the world's first rocket using methalox as a propellant to fly to orbit, marking a major breakthrough in the cutting-edge technology dominated U.S. companies like SpaceX. The 49.5-meter-long Zhuque-2 lifted off from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert at 9:00 p.m. Eastern time on July 11, 2023. The Zhuque-2 mission carried no payload and the rocket’s first stage was not recovered.
A methane-liquid oxygen propellant mix offers advantages in performance and reduces issues of soot formation and coking for purposes of reusability.
Zhuque-2 surpassed a range of other methalox rockets, including SpaceX’s Starship, the ULA Vulcan, Blue Origin’s New Glenn, Rocket Lab’s Neutron and Terran R from Relativity Space, in reaching orbit. However, these other launch vehicles will be much larger and offer greater payload capacity.
This successful launch also makes Landspace the second private Chinese launch firm to reach orbit with a liquid propellant rocket. It follows the success of Space Pioneer with its Tianlong-2 rocket in April 2023.
CGTN's Zheng Yibing provides details at the launch site.
Credit: China Global Television Network (CGTN)
Acknowledgement: SpaceNews
Duration: 2 minutes
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