Zhuque-2

Zhuque-2 (, ZQ-2) is a Chinese medium-class orbital launch vehicle developed by LandSpace. It is a liquid-fuelled rocket powered by liquid oxygen and liquid methane (methalox) and was the first methane-fueled rocket to reach orbit.

Design
Zhuque-2 has a liftoff weight of 216 tonnes and uses 4 TQ-12 methalox engines in the first stage, each with a thrust of 67 t-f. The second stage uses one vacuum-optimized TQ-12 with a thrust of 80 t-f in combination with a TQ-11 engine (8 t-f thrust), which acts as a vernier thruster.

Zhuque-2 is capable of lifting 6,000 kg of payload into a 200 km low Earth orbit and 4,000 kg of payload into a 500 km Sun-synchronous orbit.

History
In May 2019, LandSpace performed test firings of its liquid-methane and liquid-oxygen fuelled TQ-12 rocket engine at its test facility at Huzhou, Zhejiang province. LandSpace's head of research and development, Ge Minghe, says that the engine has a thrust of 80 tonnes-force. The Huzhou facility will be able to produce about 15 ZQ-2 rockets and 200 TQ-12 engines starting in 2022, according to CEO, Zhang Changwu.

On 14 December 2022, LandSpace conducted the debut flight of Zhuque-2, but failed to reach orbit due to an early shutdown of its second-stage vernier engines after the second-stage main engines apparently completed a successful burn. It was the world's first orbital launch attempt by a methane-fueled launch vehicle.

In March 2023, LandSpace confirmed that the second Zhuque-2 launch vehicle had completed assembly and was undergoing preparations for a launch attempt in the coming months.

On 12 July 2023, Zhuque-2 became the first methane-fueled launch vehicle to reach orbit after a successful second flight.