Zhuque-2E Block 2 version
Zhuque-2E Block 2 Zhuque-2
The original Zhuque-2, now retired: 49.5 m, 219,000 kg at liftoff, four TQ-12 engines on the first stage for 2,680 kN and a second stage with a vacuum TQ-12 plus a TQ-11 vernier. It placed 4,000 kg in low Earth orbit. It flew three times between 14 December 2022 and 8 December 2023 and was the first methane-fuelled rocket to reach orbit.
- December 14, 2022
- First launch
- 4,000 kg
- LEO capacity
- 2,680 kN
- Thrust
- No
- Reusable
History
The first methalox in orbit
The Zhuque-2's maiden flight, on 14 December 2022, failed: the second-stage vernier engines gave out during main-engine shutdown, damaged by excessive forces that affected the liquid-oxygen feed line. Even so, LandSpace's rocket became the first liquid-methane vehicle to reach space, above 100 km altitude.
The second attempt, on 12 July 2023, did reach orbit: the first methane rocket in the world to do so, ahead of the American projects chasing the same milestone. The third flight, on 8 December 2023, was also a success and the first to carry real payloads to orbit.
Retirement
That third launch closed the original version's career. LandSpace replaced it with the Zhuque-2E, with common-bulkhead tanks and a new TQ-15 second-stage engine, of which the Block 2 — the configuration this sheet describes — is the most recent evolution.