Chinese aerospace company Landspace launched the Zhuque-2 rocket powered by methane and liquid oxygen from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. This was the second flight mission of the Zhuque-2 carrier rocket after the unsuccessful launch on December 14 last year. The Zhuque-2 became the first methane-fuelled launch vehicle to reach orbit after a successful second flight.
Information about Zhuque-2 rocket
Zhuque-2 is a Chinese medium-range orbital launch vehicle developed by Landspace. It is a liquid-fueled rocket powered by liquid oxygen and liquid methane (Metalox), and is the first methane-fueled rocket to reach orbit.
The Zhuque-2 weighs 216 metric tons and the first stage uses 4 TQ-12 Metalox engines with a thrust of 67 metric tons. The second stage uses a vacuum optimized TQ-12 with 80 MT thrust along with an 8 MT thrust TQ-11 engine which acts as a vernier thruster. ZUK-2 is capable of carrying a payload of 6,000 kg to a low Earth orbit of 200 km and a payload of 4,000 kg to a Sun-synchronous orbit of 500 km.
Zhuque-2 launch procedure:
Two planned rockets carrying the spacecraft, one would land on the lunar surface and the other would carry the astronauts. The twin-rocket plan would overcome China's longstanding technological hurdle of developing a heavy-lift rocket powerful enough to send both astronauts and a Moon lander probe into space. After the Chinese astronauts have completed their scientific work and collected samples from the Moon, the lander will carry the astronauts back to the orbiting spacecraft, on which they will return to Earth.