Elon Musk’s SpaceX has been defeated by a Chinese upstart.
According to Bloomberg, Elon Musk’s SpaceX has been beaten in the race to launch a methane-fueled rocket by a Chinese upstart, LandSpace Technology Corp.
According to the news service, the development has boosted the Asian nation’s objective of challenging the United States as the leading power in space.
According to CCTV, a state channel, the Chinese business launched its rocket — ZQ-2 — from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in Gansu province on Wednesday.
After a botched initial effort in December, the successful launch comes months later. An anomaly in a supplemental second-stage engine caused the effort to fail.
The business said in March that it had implemented improvements that had proven beneficial in ground tests.
According to the business, the rocket arrived at the launch facility in May.
Musk’s SpaceX and other businesses have been working on rockets that can utilise methane as fuel since it is cleaner and safer than the current fuels.
According to Bloomberg, “the successful launch by LandSpace provides the Beijing-based company with bragging rights and strengthens President Xi Jinping’s strategy to have China challenge the US in the race to dominate space.”
“[It’s] a major milestone,” said Maxime Puteaux, a key advisor with Paris-based Euroconsult who studies the space business.
The development has bolstered the Asian nation’s goal of challenging the United States as the dominant power in space, according to the wire service.
The Chinese company launched its rocket — ZQ-2 — from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gansu province on Wednesday, according to CCTV, a state broadcaster.
The successful launch comes months after a failed first attempt in December. The attempt failed due to an abnormality in a supplementary second-stage engine.
The company had said in March that improvement measures were taken that proved effective in ground tests.
The company said the rocket arrived at the launch center in May, nine days after travelling from LandSpace’s manufacturing base in Jiaxing, with the final-stage preparations beginning on July 6.
Musk’s SpaceX and other companies have been developing rockets that can use methane as fuel — as it can be cleaner and safer than the fuels being used.
