LandSpace Launches Methane-powered Rocket with Six Commercial Satellites

LandSpace Launches Methane-powered Rocket with Six Commercial Satellites

A new methane-powered rocket developed by China's private firm LandSpace Technology launched commercial six satellites into orbit on Saturday, May 17, 2025, doubling down on a cheap, cleaner fuel that the startup hopes will help it develop reusable rockets.

The Zhuque-2E Y2 carrier rocket blasted off at 12:12 p.m. (0412 GMT) from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China, marking the fifth flight for the Zhuque-2 series, according to a company statement.

Beijing-based LandSpace became the world's first company to launch a methane-liquid oxygen rocket in July 2023, ahead of U.S. rivals including Elon Musk's SpaceX and Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin.

The Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center (JSLC) was founded in 1958. It was the first of China's four spaceports. The launch center has been the focus of many of China's historic space ventures, including the country's first satellite Dong Fang Hong I in 1970 and their first crewed space mission, Shenzhou V, on October 15, 2003. JSLC is now a home for many new Chinese commercial space launch firms, like Landspace.

Image Credits: Landspace, CGTN
Capture Date: May 17, 2025

#NASA #Space #Satellites #Earth #China #中国 #LandSpace #蓝箭 #Zhuque2EY2Rocket #Zhuque2 #LaunchVehicle #MethaneLiquidOxygen #CH4LOX #JiuquanSatelliteLaunchCenter #JSLC #InnerMongolia #CommercialSpace #CommercialSpaceflight #STEM #Education