ZQ-2E, an enhanced version of the ZQ-2 – the world's first liquid methane launch vehicle to reach orbit – lifted off from Dongfeng Commercial Space Launch Site in Northwest China for its first flight this year on Saturday (May 17) around 12:12 pm. The mission successfully delivered a batch of six Tianyi commercial satellites into their preset orbits, marking a complete success.
According to its developer, the Beijing-based space startup LandSpace, the ZQ-2E model is China's first dual-cryogenic liquid-fueled launch vehicle to utilize fully subcooled propellant loading.
ZQ-2E also incorporates key innovations such as a high-thrust liquid oxygen-methane propulsion system, large-area ratio niobium-tungsten alloy nozzle manufacturing technology, and an integrated structure combining single-layer common bulkhead tanks with single-layer tunnel-type feed lines, the firm stated in a press release provided to the Global Times on Saturday.
Methane, derived from natural gas, is abundant, low-cost, and easier to store than liquid hydrogen, Wang Yanan, chief editor of Aerospace Knowledge magazine, told the Global Times on Saturday, noting that the fuel also simplifies ground systems and reduces launch costs, while its clean combustion enables long-term engine reuse and easier cost control. Notably, SpaceX's Starship uses the same type of propeller fuel, its official website shows.
ZQ-2E can deliver a payload of around 4 tons to a 500-kilometer sun-synchronous orbit (SSO), targeting missions in low Earth orbit (LEO) and SSO, and is steadily developing into a core product for serving China's commercial space market, LandSpace said.
(Source: Xinhua)
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