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Zhuque-2 (ZQ-2, LandSpace-2, LS-2)
Zhuque-2 [LandSpace]
The Zhuque-2 (ZQ-2), is a Chinese commercial launch vehicle by the LandSpace company. It is the first liquid methane fueled orbital launch vehicle.
Zhuque-2 is a CZ-2C-class vehicle, which has a diameter 3.35 m and is fueled by liquid methane (LCH4) and liquid oxygen. Stage 1 is powered by four TQ-12 (Tianque-12) engines with a vacuum thrust of 80 t. Stage 2 is powered by a single TQ-12 engine with a larger nozzle for vacuum operations and four TQ-11 vernier engines.
The vehicle is designed to put a 6000 kg payload into a low 200 km orbit or 4000 kg into a sun synchronous orbit.
The first launch took place in December 2022 but failed to reach orbit. The second launch in July 2023 was successful, making the Zhuque-2 the first MethaLOX fueled rocket to reach orbit.
| Version | Stage 1 | Stage 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Zhuque-2 (ZQ-2, LandSpace-2, LS-2) | Stage 1 / 4 × TQ-12 | Stage 2 / TQ-12 (Vacuum), 4 × TQ-11 |
| Zhuque-2 (2) (ZQ-2, LandSpace-2, LS-2) | Stage 1 / 4 × TQ-12A | Stage 2 / TQ-12 (Vacuum), 4 × TQ-11 |
| Zhuque-2 (3) (ZQ-2, LandSpace-2, LS-2) | Stage 1 / 4 × TQ-12A | Stage 2 / TQ-15A |
| Performance (kg) | LEO | LPEO | SSO | GTO | GEO | MolO | IP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zhuque-2 (ZQ-2, LandSpace-2, LS-2) | 6000 | 4000 | - | - | - | - |
No: Type: Serial Date LS Payload
1 1 Zhuque-2 Y1 14.12.2022 Jq LC-43/96 F Zhixing 1B 2 2 Zhuque-2 Y2 12.07.2023 Jq LC-43/96 (Dummy Payload) Planned: Failures: 1: Failed to reach orbit, apparently due to 2nd stage vernier engine issue Launch sites: Jq = Jiuquan Space Center, Inner Mongolia, ChinaF Failure P Partial Failure
