Reference Message Network reported on May 19 that according to a report by Reuters on May 17, China's private aerospace enterprise LandSpace successfully sent six satellites into orbit with its newly developed methane-powered rocket on the same day. The startup is placing a full bet on methane, which is cheap and cleaner, hoping to develop reusable rockets.
According to the company's statement, the improved Zhuque-2 Y2 carrier rocket was launched at 12:12 PM on May 17 from a launch center in northwest China. This is the fifth flight of the Zhuque-2 series carrier rockets.
The report said that LandSpace, headquartered in Beijing, became the world's first company to successfully launch a liquid oxygen-methane rocket into orbit in July 2023, ahead of American competitors such as SpaceX and Blue Origin founded by Musk and Bezos respectively.
In recent years, carrier rockets using methane as fuel have received increasing attention. Methane is considered to be less polluting, safer, and more cost-effective, making it an ideal propellant for reusable rockets.
It was reported that LandSpace has enhanced the payload capacity of the rocket, reflecting the growing demand in China's commercial aerospace sector. The competition in this field is becoming increasingly fierce, with companies vying to build satellite constellations to compete with Musk's "Starlink" plan.
The report stated that LandSpace did not carry any satellites during its first successful launch of a liquid oxygen-methane rocket in 2023. However, the second launch in December of the same year successfully placed three satellites into space. This launch successfully delivered six satellites developed by Changsha Tianyi Space Technology Research Institute into orbit.
A responsible person from Tianyi Research Institute introduced before the launch that the payload included one radar satellite, two optical remote sensing satellites, and three space science experiment satellites, with weights ranging from 20 kilograms to 300 kilograms.
Reusable rocket technology developed by Musk's Space Exploration Technologies Corporation has proven to be effective in reducing the costs of carrier rockets and space transportation. Zhang Changwu, founder and CEO of LandSpace, said that the company has started research and development work on reusable rockets and plans to conduct trial launches in late 2025.
The latest model of the Zhuque-2 series carrier rockets includes several technical improvements. These technological advancements will help the company achieve its goal of launching reusable rockets.
Since 2014, when Chinese authorities opened the aerospace sector to private capital, commercial aerospace enterprises have flooded into this field. LandSpace is one of the earliest entrants and best-funded companies in the market. (Compiled/Translated by Yang Xuelai)
Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7505983781698847273/
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