Chinese commercial rocket fails in flight test

BEIJING: A flight test of a Chinese-mad methane-powered rockets failed on Friday after the carrier rocket experienced an “anomaly”, Chinese commercial rocket developer LandSpace Technology said, adding that it is investigating the cause.

Interest has grown in recent years in using rockets fuelled by methane to launch satellites: the fuel is deemed less polluting, safer and cheaper than more commonly used hydrocarbon fuels, and can power a reusable rocket.

The Beijing-based start-up became the world’s first company to launch a methane-liquid oxygen rocket with the successful launch of Zhuque-2 in July 2023, ahead of US rivals including Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin.

The Zhuque-2 carrier rocket blasted off on July 12, 2023 at 9am from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China and completed its flight according to plan.

It was the second attempt by Beijing-based LandSpace, one of the earliest firms in China’s commercial launch sector, to launch the Zhuque-2. A first attempt in December failed.

LandSpace has since tested various versions of its Zhuque-2 series, including the Zhuque-2E Y2, whose flight test succeeded in May.

A new methane-powered rocket developed by China's #LandSpace Technology launched 6 satellites into orbit on Saturday, as the private startup doubles down on a cheap, cleaner fuel that it hopes will help it develop reusable rockets #China #Tech pic.twitter.com/73RS1duRJP

— Lai Wingwang (@laiwingwang) May 19, 2025

A Zhuque-2E Y3 carrier rocket “experienced an anomaly” after taking off from a commercial space launch site in northwestern China on Friday morning, LandSpace said in a statement published on WeChat. It gave no further details of the issue, which it said the company was looking into.

LandSpace is committed to the research, manufacturing and launch of liquid oxygen and methane rockets, the statement said.