Beijing, China

Beating Elon Musk’s SpaceX, a Chinese aerospace company called LandSpace has successfully launched a rocket using methane and liquid oxygen. The rocket, called Zhuque-2, blasted off Wednesday from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in the Gobi desert. It successfully deposited a test payload into the sun-synchronous orbit (SSO). LandSpace has become the first aerospace company to achieve this feat globally.

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Wednesday’s launch marked the second lift-off attempt for Zhuque-2 after its first launch failed in December last year.

Why Methane-powered engines are sought after?

Methane-powered engines are crucial for the aerospace industry as they offer lucrative business prospects. Such engines are highly sought after because of their high performance and low operational cost. Notably, methane can be produced in space itself by synthesising water and carbon dioxide.

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This technology is even more suitable for reusable rockets, making it the front-running design in the new era of rocketry. 

This year so far, two launch attempts with the use of methane-powered engines have already ended in failure. Two methane-powered rockets, the Terran 1 from Relativity Space in the US and SpaceX’s Starship, failed to reach space in their maiden attempts.

Chinese aerospace industry on a roll

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Beijing Tianbing Technology Co, another Chinese aerospace company, made history in April this year by becoming the first private sector company in the world to reach orbit in its first try. It launched its first rocket Tianlong-2 from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert, and successfully deposited a small remote-sensing satellite into sun-synchronous orbit.

Watch: India aims for the moon again: ISRO says Chandrayaan 3 good to go

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Now, the remarkable achievement around the methane-powered rocket tech by another Chinese company shows the country’s aerospace sector has really been firing all cylinders.

Is India also developing methane-powered engines?

According to a senior official from ISRO, the agency is currently working on two engines known as "LOx methane" engines. These engines utilise liquid oxygen as the oxidiser and methane as the fuel.

Also read: Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft ready to be encapsulated into rocket, says ISRO

The first project focuses on converting the existing cryogenic engine, which currently uses liquid hydrogen as fuel, into a LOx methane engine. 

The second project aims to develop a smaller engine with a thrust capacity of three tonnes, featuring an electric motor. These projects are being carried out at ISRO's Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre located in Trivandrum.

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