The Zhuque-2E Y2 carrier rocket blasted off at 12:12 p.m. (0412 GMT) from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China, marking the fifth flight for the Zhuque-2 series, according to a company statement.
Interest has grown in recent years in launching carrier vehicles fuelled by methane, which is deemed less polluting, safer and cheaper than more commonly used hydrocarbon fuels, and a suitable propellant in a reusable rocket.
Its first successful methane-powered launch did not carry any real satellites, but the second launch in December 2023 successfully sent into orbit three satellites. Saturday's launch put six satellites into orbit, mainly developed by Chinese firm Spacety, also known as Changsha Tianyi Space Science and Technology Research Institute.
Reusable rockets
The radar satellite is an all-weather Earth-observation satellite that produces images during the day and night, as well as see through clouds and rain, he added.
Spacety was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department in January 2023 for allegedly supplying a Russian company with radar satellite imagery over Ukraine, which the U.S. said was used to enable the Russian mercenary group Wagner's combat operations in Ukraine.
Reusable rockets, pioneered by SpaceX, have demonstrated that they can lower costs for launch vehicles and space transportation. LandSpace founder and CEO Zhang Changwu has said the company had started developing reusable rockets and expected to conduct a test launch in the second half of 2025.
Saturday's launch marked the first time LandSpace has deployed a propulsion method that involves chilling both liquid oxygen and methane below their boiling points, boosting thrust.
Founded in 2015, LandSpace has secured funding from investors including venture capital firm HongShan, known at that time as Sequoia Capital China, the investment arm of Chinese property developer Country Garden and the state-backed China SME Development Fund.
LandSpace raised 900 million yuan ($120 million) in December from a state-owned fund focussed on advanced manufacturing, while in 2020 it raised 1.2 billion yuan ($170 million), Chinese corporate databases showed.
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