The Chinese space company Landspace became the first in the world to successfully launch a rocket fueled by a mixture of liquid methane and oxygen, known as metalox, into an orbit around the Earth.
The Zhuque-2 rocket was Landspace’s second attempt to reach space with a methane-powered rocket. The first attempt took place at the end of last year but ended in failure due to an issue with the separation of the rocket’s first and second stages.
Liquid methane is considered by many to be the future of rocket fuel for reusable rockets because it produces less soot than other fuels. Furthermore, it is said to be safer, cheaper, and less environmentally hazardous than other fuels used in rockets.
Several other rocket companies are working on developing methane-powered rockets. SpaceX’s Starship is one of them. ULA’s Vulcan rocket, Blue Origin’s New Glenn, Rocket Lab’s Neutron, and Relativity Space’s Terran R will also be powered by liquid methane.
Above is a feature from the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post about the successful launch of Landspace’s Zhuque-2 rocket.
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