LandSpace

Landspace Technology Corporation was established in 2015, after a Chinese government policy change in 2014 that allowed private capital into the space industry.^[11] Since its founding, the company has established several aerospace infrastructure sites in Zhejiang, including a $1.5 billion medium and large-scale liquid rocket assembly and test plant in Jiaxing and an intelligent manufacturing base in Huzhou.^[8]

LandSpace developed its first launch vehicle Zhuque-1, powered by solid-propellant motors. Zhuque-1 was launched on 27 October 2018, however the payload failed to reach orbit due to an issue with the third stage.^[12][13] The company also developed the liquid-fueled Zhuque-2, which became the first methalox rocket in the world to reach orbit after a successful second flight on 12 July 2023.^[14]

Zhuque-1

Zhuque-1 (ZQ-1, Chinese: 朱雀一号 or 朱雀·南太湖号), also known as LandSpace-1 or LS-1, is a 19-metre (62 ft) tall, three-stage solid-propellant rocket with a diameter of 1.35 m. It is likely based on the DF-26 missile's rocket motor.^[15] Zhuque-1 has a takeoff mass of 27 t (27 long tons; 30 short tons), a thrust of 45 tf (99,000 lbf), and can carry 300 kg (660 lb) of payload into a 300 km (190 mi) low Earth orbit (LEO).^[12]

The maiden flight of Zhuque-1 took place on 27 October 2018, from a mobile platform at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, carrying the Weilai-1 satellite for China Central Television. Despite successful first and second stage firings and fairing separation, the payload failed to reach orbit due to a third-stage issue.^[12][13] Zhuque-1 was the first Chinese private orbital rocket to attempt an orbital launch.^[16]

Following the launch, reports emerged that the solid rocket motor manufacturer had ended its contract with LandSpace, casting doubt on the future of Zhuque-1.^[15] Subsequently, LandSpace announced it would shift its focus to developing the methane-fueled Zhuque-2.^[8]

Zhuque-2

Zhuque-2 (ZQ-2) is a medium-sized liquid-fuelled rocket powered by liquid oxygen and methane capable of lifting 6,000 kg (13,000 lb) of payload into a 200 km (120 mi) LEO, or 4,000 kg (8,800 lb) of payload into a 500 km (310 mi) sun-synchronous orbit (SSO).^[6][9] The rocket was planned to be launched in 2020,^[17] however by 2019 this had slipped to 2021,^[11] and later to December 2022.^{[citation needed]}

The first flight of Zhuque-2 occurred on 14 December 2022, but the launch vehicle failed to place its payload into orbit due to the failure of its second-stage vernier engines after the second-stage main engine shutdown. Nevertheless, with this maiden launch, Zhuque-2 became the first methane-fueled rocket to reach space. On 12 July 2023, the second flight was successful, making it the first methane-fueled launch vehicle in the world to reach orbit; this flight did not carry an active payload.^[9][8] On 8 December 2023, the third Zhuque-2 mission successfully placed three satellites into a 433 by 461 kilometers sun-synchronous orbit. LandSpace plans to launch three Zhuque-2 rockets in 2024 and six in 2025.^[10]

Zhuque-3

Zhuque-3 (ZQ-3) is an under-development, two-stage, medium-to-heavy launch vehicle made of stainless steel and powered by liquid methane fuel. The reusable first stage, equipped with nine Tianque-12B engines, is designed to be recoverable and reusable for up to twenty launches. The rocket will be 76.6 meters long, 4.5 meters in diameter, and have a liftoff weight of approximately 660 tonnes. Its planned payload capacity to low Earth orbit is about 21 tonnes in expendable mode, 18.3 tonnes when the first stage is recovered downrange, and 12.5 tonnes when the first stage returns to the launch site. The maiden flight of the rocket is planned for 2025, ^[10] aiming to achieve the milestone of first-stage recovery within the same year, and progressing towards reusability by 2026.

On 19 January 2024, Landspace conducted a successful vertical takeoff and vertical landing (VTVL) test using the Zhuque-3 VTVL-1 test vehicle at Jiuquan. The test stage, powered by a single Tianque-12 engine, flew for approximately 60 seconds and reached a height of about 350 meters. Landspace reported a landing accuracy of about 2.4 meters and a touchdown speed of approximately 0.75 meters per second.^[18] Additionally, the company had previously announced plans to develop a 200-tonne class full-flow staged combustion engine BF-20, which is expected to be ready by 2028 for a future version of Zhuque-3.^[10]

Zhuque-1 launches

Zhuque-2 launches

LandSpace is in competition with several other Chinese space rocket startups, being LinkSpace, Galactic Energy, ExPace, i-Space, OneSpace and Deep Blue Aerospace.^[20]

• Official website