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LandSpace

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LandSpace Technology Corporation
LandSpace
Native name
Lam tiễn hàng thiên không gian khoa kỹ cổ phân hữu hạn công tư
Company typePrivate
IndustryAerospace
FoundedJune 2015;9 years ago(2015-06)[1]
FounderZhang Changwu ( trương xương võ )[2]
Headquarters
Beijing
,
China
Websitelandspace.com
Footnotes / references
[3]
LandSpace Technology Corporation
Simplified ChineseLam tiễn hàng thiên không gian khoa kỹ cổ phân hữu hạn công tư
Traditional ChineseLam tiễn hàng thiên không gian khoa kỹ cổ phân hữu hạn công tư
LandSpace
Simplified ChineseLam tiễn hàng thiên
Traditional ChineseLam tiễn hàng thiên

LandSpace Technology Corporation(doing business asLandSpace)[4][5]is a Chinese commercialspace launchprovider based inBeijing.[6]It was founded in 2015 by Zhang Changwu.[6][7]

As of July 2023, the company's Zhuque-2 rocket became the first methane-fueled orbital launch vehicle in the world after reaching orbit on its second flight.[8][9]LandSpace plans to conduct three Zhuque-2 launches in 2024 and six in 2025.[10]

History[edit]

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 inZhejiang,including a $1.5 billion medium and large-scale liquid rocket assembly and test plant inJiaxingand an intelligent manufacturing base inHuzhou.[8]

LandSpace developed its first launch vehicle Zhuque-1, powered bysolid-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-fueledZhuque-2,which became the first methalox rocket in the world to reach orbit after a successful second flight on 12 July 2023.[14]

Launch vehicles[edit]

Zhuque-1[edit]

Zhuque-1

Zhuque-1(ZQ-1,Chinese:Chu tước nhất hàoor chu tước · nam thái hồ hào ), also known asLandSpace-1orLS-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 theDF-26missile'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 theJiuquan Satellite Launch Center,carrying the Weilai-1 satellite forChina Central Television.Despite successful first and second stage firings andfairing 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[edit]

Main article:Zhuque-2

Zhuque-2(ZQ-2) is a medium-sizedliquid-fuelled rocketpowered byliquid oxygenandmethanecapable 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 firstmethane-fueledlaunch 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[edit]

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 nineTianque-12Bengines, 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 atJiuquan.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 engineBF-20,which is expected to be ready by 2028 for a future version of Zhuque-3.[10]

Launches[edit]

Zhuque-1 launches[edit]

Rocket & serial Flight number Date Payload Orbit Launch site Outcome Notes
Zhuque-1[12] Y1 27 October 2018,
08:00UTC 		Weilai-1 ('Future-1') satellite LEO Jiuquan Failure 3 solid-fuel stages; 3rd stage anomaly.[13]

Zhuque-2 launches[edit]

Rocket & serial Flight number Date Payload Orbit Launch site Outcome Notes
Zhuque-2[19] Y1 14 December 2022,
08:30 UTC 		Various SSO Jiuquan,Site 96 Failure First methane launch vehicle to reach space.
Zhuque-2[9] 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[10] 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.

Zhuque-3 launches[edit]

Rocket & serial Flight number Date Payload Orbit Launch site Outcome Notes


Zhuque-3 Demo flight NETJune 2025[20] Jiuquan TBD First flight of Zhuque-3

Marketplace[edit]

LandSpace is in competition with several other Chinese space rocket startups, beingLinkSpace,Galactic Energy,ExPace,i-Space,OneSpaceandDeep Blue Aerospace.[21]

References[edit]

  1. ^Quan vu ngã môn[About Us].landspace.com(in Chinese).Retrieved8 August2022.
  2. ^"Zhang Changwu".APSCC Satellite Conference & Exhibition.Asia-Pacific Satellite Communications Council. Archived fromthe originalon 11 August 2020.Retrieved2 August2023.
  3. ^"About Us".landspace.com.Archived fromthe originalon 24 January 2021.Retrieved5 March2021.
  4. ^Bắc kinh lam tiễn không gian khoa kỹ hữu hạn công tư (landspace)[Beijing Blue Arrow Space Technology Co., Ltd. (landspace)].China Spaceflight(in Chinese). 30 September 2017. Archived fromthe originalon 6 October 2017.Retrieved2 August2023.
  5. ^Kenhmann, Henri (8 October 2016)."LandSpace: le futur SpaceX chinois"[LandSpace: the future Chinese SpaceX].East Pendulum(in French). Archived fromthe originalon 13 October 2016.Retrieved2 August2023.
  6. ^abcLin, Jeffrey;Singer, P. W.(23 January 2017)."A private Chinese space company just scored a foreign contract for the first time".Popular Science.Retrieved2 August2023.
  7. ^Dillow, Clay (28 March 2017)."China's secret plan to crush SpaceX and the US space program".CNBC.Retrieved2 August2023.
  8. ^abcdJones, Andrew (12 July 2023)."China's Landspace reaches orbit with methane-powered Zhuque-2 rocket".SpaceNews.Retrieved12 July2023.
  9. ^abcdBeil, Adrian (11 July 2023)."LandSpace claims win in the methane race to orbit via second ZhuQue-2 launch".NASASpaceFlight.com.Retrieved12 July2023.
  10. ^abcdeJones, Andrew (9 December 2023)."Landspace launches third methane Zhuque-2, targets 2025 launch of new stainless steel rocket".spacenews.com.Retrieved9 December2023.
  11. ^abJones, Andrew (10 December 2019)."Chinese space launch firm Landspace raises $71 million".SpaceNews.Retrieved2 August2023.
  12. ^abcdBarbosa, Rui C. (27 October 2018)."Chinese commercial provider LandSpace launches Weilai-1 on a Zhuque-1 rockets – fails to make orbit".NASASpaceFlight.com.Retrieved27 October2018.
  13. ^abcJones, Andrew (27 October 2018)."Landspace fails to reach orbit with milestone private Chinese launch".SpaceNews.Retrieved28 October2018.
  14. ^Zhao, Lei (12 July 2023)."China launches first globally successful orbital mission for methane-fueled rocket".China Daily.Retrieved2 August2023.
  15. ^ab"ZhuQue-1 (ZQ-1, LandSpace-1, LS-1)".Gunter's Space Page.Retrieved2 August2023.
  16. ^Clark, Stephen (28 October 2018)."LandSpace falls short of orbit in private Chinese launch attempt".Spaceflight Now.Retrieved2 August2023.
  17. ^"Landspace - ZQ-2 / Suzaku No. 2".GlobalSecurity.org.Retrieved2 August2023.
  18. ^Jones, Andrew (19 January 2024)."China's Landspace conducts first VTVL test for reusable stainless steel rocket".spacenews.com.Retrieved20 January2024.
  19. ^Fernholz, Tim (27 September 2016)."The SpaceX of China aims to commercialize a mysterious rocket on the world stage".Quartz.Retrieved2 August2023.
  20. ^{{cite web |last=Xin |first=Ling |url=https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3249190/chinas-landspace-tests-prototype-zhuque-3-reusable-stainless-steel-rocket|title=China’s LandSpace tests prototype of Zhuque-3 reusable stainless steel rocket |work=scmp|date=20 January 2024 |access-date=01 July 2024
  21. ^Messier, Doug (20 December 2017)."EXPACE Raises $182 Million for Small Satellite Launchers".Parabolic Arc.Archived fromthe originalon 4 December 2020.Retrieved2 August2023.

External links[edit]

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=LandSpace&oldid=1231872120"