World’s First Methane Fuelled Space Rocket

Blog Credit: Trupti Thakur

Image Courtesy: Google

World’s First Methane Fuelled  Space Rocket-

A private Chinese company launched the World’s first methane-fuelled space rocket into orbit named “Zhuque-2”.

Highlights of the Zhuque-2

The Zhuque-2 carrier rocket blasted off at 9:00A.M. (01:00 GMT) on 12^th July from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in northwest China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous region and completed the flight mission according to the procedure.

• China’s Zhuque-2 has become the World’s first methane propelled rocket to successfully fly into orbit.
• This was Landscape’s second attemptafter a launch failed in December.
• This landmark achievement signifies a paradigm shift in the race towards cleaner, safe and reusable space travel technology.
• Zhuque-2 achieved the expected trajectory and completed its flight according to plan.
• The launch indicated significant progress in the development of the reusable rockets, as methane engines offers excellent performance with lower operational costs.
• Landscape also became the second private Chinese company to launch a liquid-propellant rocket.

About the Zhueque-2:

• The Zhuque-2 is a Chinese orbital class launching vehicle developed by Landscape.
• It is liquid-fuelled rocket powered by liquid oxygen and liquid methane (methalox).
• It is first methane-fuelled rocket to reach orbit.
• Zhuque-2 has a liftoff weight of 216 metric tonsand uses 4 TQ-12 methalox engines in the first stage with a thrust of 67 metric tonnes.
• The second stage utilizes one optimized TQ-12with a thrust of 80 metric tonnes in combination with an 8 metric tonnes thrust TQ-11 engine which acts as a vernier thruster.
• Zhuque-2 has a capability of lifting 6,000 kgof payload into a 200 km low Earth orbit and 4,000 kg of payload into a 500 km Sun-synchronous orbit.
• Zhuque-2 has also been launched on 14 December 2022but it was a failure.

Process of launching of Zhueque-2:

One of the two planned rockets that will carry spacecraft will land on the moon’s surface and the other will transport the astronauts.

The twin-rocket plan would overcome China’s longstanding technological hurdle of developing a heavy-duty powerful enough to send both astronauts and a moon lander probe into space.

After Chinese astronauts have completed their scientific tasks and collected samples from the moon, the lander will transport the astronauts back to the orbiting spacecraft, on which they will return to Earth.

More About the Launch:

Prominent Chinese space company announced the launch of the world’s first giant rocket powered by methane and liquid oxygen.

The “South China Morning Post” newspaper reported that “the Zhuque-2 rocket from the Chinese company, LandSpace, took off on its first flight, last Wednesday morning, from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert in China

Developed by China‘s LandSpace rocket company, Zhuoqiue-2 is the world’s first rocket powered by liquid oxygen and methane fuel and successfully entered its planned orbit.

The Zhuoqiue-2 carrier rocket took off at 9:00 am (Beijing time) from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China, according to Xinhua.

This flight is the second for the LandSpace rocket, after the failure of the first flight, which was launched in mid-December.

Methane is clean and safe compared to propellants, liquid hydrogen, and other fuels in use today.

Converting methane into fuel is an ideal option for powering reusable rockets. Methane as an organic fuel provides excellent performance for rocket engines and contributes to reducing operational costs.

As On July 12 successfully launched a new carrier rocket into space from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China.

Features:

1. The Zhuque-2 carrier rocket is the world’s first rocket powered by liquid oxygen-methane fuel and successfully entered its planned orbit, as well as the first liquid-propellant rocket entering its planned orbit independently developed by a Chinese private rocket company.
2. The successful launch marked that China’s first high-thrust liquid oxygen-methane engine has completed a flight mission, and a breakthrough in the new low-cost, liquid propellant application for China’s carrier rockets.
3. The Zhuque-2 is a two-stage rocket with a body diameter of 3.35 meters and a height of 49.5 meters. Its takeoff weight is about 219 tons, and its takeoff thrust is about 268 tons.
4. The stage 1 of the rocket is powered by four Tianque-12 (TQ-12) engines each with a vacuum thrust of 80 tons, and the stage 2 by a single TQ-12 engine and four TQ-11 vernier engines.
5. Carrier rocket, as a launch vehicle, is the foundation of all space activities, and the engine is the “heart” of a rocket, while the propellant decides the key performance of a rocket.
6. Rocket propellants include liquid fuels and solid fuels. In particular, liquid fuels include liquid oxygen (LOX)/kerosene, LOX/liquid hydrogen, liquid oxygen-methane, etc. Each of the fuels has its advantages and disadvantages. For instance, the LOX/kerosene fuel features low cost and high specific impulse, but it’s prone to carbon deposition and coking.

Liquid oxygen-methane is a mixture of liquid oxygen and methane. It is efficient, green, cheap and easily extracted. It comes with less carbon deposition, which reduces the workload in engine cleaning and thus lowers the maintenance cost of reusable rockets. That’s why it is considered one of the ideal materials for making rocket propellants.

According to Zhang Changwu, CEO of LandSpace, the company that developed the Zhuque-2, liquid oxygen and methane are widely applied in both the civil and industrial sectors, and they are very accessible and cheap.

The cost of this propellant, which is expected to become an industrial product in massive supply once the technology of liquid oxygen-methane engine matures, will be more controllable, Zhang added.

Aerospace is a technologically challenging industry with high risks. The world today has entered a rapid development phase of reusable liquid oxygen-methane rockets. Multiple such rockets are underway outside China. In the first half of this year alone, two other liquid oxygen-methane rockets were launched, but they both failed unfortunately.

The development of the Zhuque-2 carrier rocket was no plain sailing. At the end of the last year, it failed in its first mission. LandSpace established an investigation group to look into the reasons causing the failure and adopted multiple measures for improvement.

It was not easy for the company to achieve the success today after it experienced the failure in the first mission of the Zhuque-2. The development team did a huge amount of work, including launch tests, ground vibration tests, hydraulic tests and final assembly detection.

“What we achieved this time was not only a successful launch of a rocket, but also the capability of a private aerospace company in developing, testing, manufacturing and launching rockets. We’ll keep going toward our goal of massive and commercial rocket development and manufacturing, and prove our value with innovation,” Zhang said.

As the first Chinese rocket powered by liquid oxygen-methane fuel, the Zhuque-2 is expected to lower the cost of commercial rocket launching and bring a revolution to the market of commercial rocket launching.

Zhang said that the company will keep upgrading the Zhuque series to improve its performance and offer the market with low-cost, high-performance and high-thrust rockets.

The private aerospace sector has experienced rapid development over the past 10 years and become an indispensable force in China’s aerospace industry. It covers rocket launching, satellite and ground facility development, satellite operation, satellite application and other areas.

According to statistics, China is home to more than 400 private aerospace companies that operate over 350 in-orbit satellites. The private aerospace sector has released considerable economic potential, with a market size of over 1 trillion yuan ($139.59 billion).

Experts noted that China is seeing a significant increase in the frequency and number of space launches, as well as a huge demand for commercial launches. Private aerospace enterprises, featuring strong innovation capability, flexible commercial operation and clear market orientations, are injecting new vitality into China’s aerospace industry.

 

More About The Rockets:

1. What is the first rocket in the world?

Ans: One of the first recorded rocket launchers is the “wasp nest” fire arrow launcher produced by the Ming dynasty in 1380. In Europe rockets were also used in the same year at the Battle of Chioggia. The Joseon kingdom of Korea used a type of mobile multiple rocket launcher known as the “Munjong Hwacha” by 1451.

2. Who invented the first rocket?

Ans: A U.S. professor of physics and scientist, Robert Goddard was a pioneer of controlled, liquid-fueled rocketry. He launched the world’s first liquid-fueled rocket on March 16, 1926. From 1930 to 1935, he launched rockets that attained speeds of up to 885 kilometers per hour ( km/h ) (550 miles per hour ( mph )).

3. Who launched the first rocket of the world?

Ans: Dr Robert H. Goddard

It is exactly 75 years since Dr Robert H. Goddard successfully launched the first liquid-fueled rocket on 16 March 1926.

4. Who made India’s first rocket?

Ans: Vikram-S is India’s first privately built rocket. It’s maiden flight lifted on 18 November 2022 at 11 A.M. from Sounding Rocket Complex, Sriharikota. The development of rocket was done by Skyroot Aerospace.

5. Who found rocket in India?

Ans: Mysorean rockets were an Indian military weapon created by Muslim emperor Tipu Sultan, the iron-cased rockets were successfully deployed for military use. The Mysorean army, under Hyder Ali and his son Tipu Sultan, used the rockets effectively against the British East India Company during the 1780s and 1790s.

6. Where was India’s first rocket?

Ans: India’s spaceward odyssey began on November 21, 1963, with the launch of the US Nike Apache sounding rocket from Thumba, near Thiruvananthapuram.

 

Blog By: Trupti Thakur