LandSpace Technology Corporation
LandSpace
Native name
蓝箭航天空间科技股份有限公司
TypePrivate
IndustryAerospace
FoundedJune 2015 (2015-06)[1]
FounderZhang Changwu (张昌武)[2]
Headquarters
Beijing
,
China
Websitelandspace.com
Footnotes / references
[3]
LandSpace Technology Corporation
Simplified Chinese蓝箭航天空间科技股份有限公司
Traditional Chinese藍箭航天空間科技股份有限公司
LandSpace
Simplified Chinese蓝箭航天
Traditional Chinese藍箭航天

LandSpace Technology Corporation (doing business as LandSpace)[4][5] is a Chinese private space launch provider based in Beijing.[6] It was founded in 2015 by Zhang Changwu.[6][7]

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.[9][10] 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.[11]

Launch vehicles

Zhuque-1

Zhuque-1

Zhuque-1 (ZQ-1, Chinese: 朱雀一号 or 朱雀·南太湖号), also called LandSpace-1 or LS-1 (the name LandSpace-1 or LS-1 was originally reserved for a different rocket that did not in the end materialise;[10] after cancellation of the rocket, the name LandSpace-1 was then affiliated to LandSpace's rocket-to-be-developed at the time, the Zhuque-1), is a 19-metre (62 ft) tall, three-stage solid-propellant rocket. All stages have a diameter of 1.35 m. It is likely based on the DF-26 missile's rocket motor.[12] Zhuque-1 has a takeoff mass of 27 t (30 tons) and a thrust of 45 tf (99,000 lbf), and is able to carry 300 kg (660 lb) of payload into a 300 km (190 mi) low Earth orbit (LEO).[9]

The maiden flight of Zhuque-1 was on 27 October 2018 from a mobile platform at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, carrying Weilai-1 satellite for China Central Television. After a successful first- and second-stage firing, and fairing separation, the payload failed to reach orbit due to an issue with the third stage.[9][10] Zhuque-1 was the first Chinese private orbital rocket to attempt an orbital launch.[13]

According to news reports, the manufacturer of the solid rocket motors has ended its contract with LandSpace. This raised doubts as to whether there will be a second flight of Zhuque-1.[12] Following the launch, LandSpace announced it would advance its focus from Zhuque-1's simple solid-propellant towards the development of a methane-fuelled 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][14] The rocket was planned to be launched in 2020,[15] however by 2019 this had slipped to 2021,[16] and later to December 2022.

The first flight of Zhuque-2 occurred on 14 December 2022 but the launch vehicle failed to place its payload into orbit due to failure of its second stage vernier engines after second srage main engine shutdown; nevertheless, with this maiden launch, Zhuque-2 became the first methane-fuelled rocket to reach space. On 12 July 2023, the second Zhuque-2 flight was a complete success, thereby making it the first methane-fueled launch vehicle in the world to reach orbit; this flight did not carry an active payload.[14][8] Finally on 8 December 2023, the third Zhuque-2 flight successfully placed two satellites in a 433 by 461 kilometres sun-synchronous orbit. LandSpace plans to launch three Zhuque-2 rockets in 2024 and six in 2025.[17]

Zhuque-3

Zhuque-3 (ZQ-3) is an under-development medium-to-heavy launch vehicle made of stainless steel and powered by liquid methane fuel. The first stage of the rocket, equipped with nine Tianque-12B engines, is planned to be recoverable and reusable for up to twenty times. It will have a length of 76.6 meters and a diameter of 4.5 meters; its liftoff weight will be about 660 tonnes. The rocket's planned carrying capacity to low Earth orbit is about 21 tonnes when used in an expendable mode, 18.3 tonnes when the first stage is recovered down range (likely on a floating platform), and 12.5 tonnes when the first stage returns to launch point. The first flight of the rocket is planned for 2025.[17]

Launches

Rocket & serial Flight number Date Payload Orbit Launch site Outcome Notes
Zhuque-1[9][10] 27 October 2018,
08:00 UTC		 Weilai-1 ('Future-1') satellite LEO Jiuquan Failure 3 solid-fuel stages; 3rd stage anomaly.
Zhuque-2[18] Y1 14 December 2022,
08:30 UTC		 Various SSO Jiuquan, Site 96 Failure First methane launch vehicle to reach space.
Zhuque-2[14] Y2 12 July 2023,
01:00 UTC		 No payload (flight test) SSO Jiuquan, Site 96 Success First methane launch vehicle to reach orbit.
Zhuque-2[17] Y3 8 December 2023,
23:39 UTC		 Honghu-1
Honghu-2
Tianyi 33		 SSO Jiuquan, Site 96 Success First methane launch vehicle to launch payloads into orbit.

Marketplace

LandSpace is in competition with several other Chinese space rocket startups, being LinkSpace, Galactic Energy, ExPace, i-Space, OneSpace and Deep Blue Aerospace.[19]

References

  1. ↑ 关于我们 [About Us]. landspace.com (in Chinese). Retrieved 8 August 2022.
  2. ↑ "Zhang Changwu". APSCC Satellite Conference & Exhibition. Asia-Pacific Satellite Communications Council. Archived from the original on 11 August 2020. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  3. ↑ "About Us". landspace.com. Archived from the original on 24 January 2021. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  4. ↑ 北京蓝箭空间科技有限公司(landspace) [Beijing Blue Arrow Space Technology Co., Ltd. (landspace)]. China Spaceflight (in Chinese). 30 September 2017. Archived from the original on 6 October 2017. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  5. ↑ Kenhmann, Henri (8 October 2016). "LandSpace: le futur SpaceX chinois" [LandSpace: the future Chinese SpaceX]. East Pendulum (in French). Archived from the original on 13 October 2016. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  6. 1 2 3 Lin, Jeffrey; Singer, P. W. (23 January 2017). "A private Chinese space company just scored a foreign contract for the first time". Popular Science. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  7. ↑ Dillow, Clay (28 March 2017). "China's secret plan to crush SpaceX and the US space program". CNBC. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  8. 1 2 3 Jones, Andrew (12 July 2023). "China's Landspace reaches orbit with methane-powered Zhuque-2 rocket". SpaceNews. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
  9. 1 2 3 4 Barbosa, Rui C. (27 October 2018). "Chinese commercial provider LandSpace launches Weilai-1 on a Zhuque-1 rockets – fails to make orbit". NASASpaceFlight.com. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
  10. 1 2 3 4 Jones, Andrew (27 October 2018). "Landspace fails to reach orbit with milestone private Chinese launch". SpaceNews. Retrieved 28 October 2018.
  11. ↑ Zhao, Lei (12 July 2023). "China launches first globally successful orbital mission for methane-fueled rocket". China Daily. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  12. 1 2 "ZhuQue-1 (ZQ-1, LandSpace-1, LS-1)". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  13. ↑ Clark, Stephen (28 October 2018). "LandSpace falls short of orbit in private Chinese launch attempt". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  14. 1 2 3 Beil, Adrian (11 July 2023). "LandSpace claims win in the methane race to orbit via second ZhuQue-2 launch". NASASpaceFlight.com. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
  15. ↑ "Landspace - ZQ-2 / Suzaku No. 2". GlobalSecurity.org. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  16. ↑ Jones, Andrew (10 December 2019). "Chinese space launch firm Landspace raises $71 million". SpaceNews. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  17. 1 2 3 Jones, Andrew (9 December 2023). "Landspace launches third methane Zhuque-2, targets 2025 launch of new stainless steel rocket". spacenews.com. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
  18. ↑ Fernholz, Tim (27 September 2016). "The SpaceX of China aims to commercialize a mysterious rocket on the world stage". Quartz. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  19. ↑ Messier, Doug (20 December 2017). "EXPACE Raises $182 Million for Small Satellite Launchers". Parabolic Arc. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
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