Zhuque-2

-
ZhuQue-2

ZhuQue-2 (ZQ-2) is developed by Chinese company LandSpace. It is the first orbital-class launch vehicle which used liquid methane and liquid oxygen (methalox) as fuel. It is a medium-sized, two-stage rocket with a 3.35-meter diameter fairing, designed to carry payloads of 4,000-6,000 kg to sun-synchronous or low Earth orbits, respectively. 

After an initial failure in December 2022, its second flight in July 2023 successfully reached orbit, making it a historic milestone. 

ZhuQue-2; source: LandSpace


After a nominal flight, the second stage of the rocket reached a Sun-synchronous orbit (SSO) with a perigee of 431 km (~268 mi), an apogee of 461 km (~286 mi), and an inclination of 97.3 degrees.

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 tonnes-force (660 kN). The second stage uses one vacuum-optimized TQ-12 with a thrust of 80 tonnes-force (780 kN) in combination with a TQ-11 engine (8 tonnes-force (78 kN) thrust), which acts as a vernier thruster. A vernier thruster is a rocket engine used on a spacecraft or launch vehicle for fine adjustments to the attitude or velocity.

TQ-12 fully assembled engine; Source: LandSpace

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.

What Is The ZhuQue-2, source: LandSpace

ZhuQue-2E is an enhanced version of the rocket which successfully placed two satellites into orbit on 27 November 2024. The new version of the rocket differs from the initial variant by featuring a common bulkhead tank structure, a new TQ-15 liquid oxygen and methane engine with thrust vectoring capabilities on the second stage, and a new niobium alloy nozzle extension on the enhanced TQ-15A engine.

The most recent news for Zhuque-2 is the failure of a Zhuque-2E Y3 launch in August 2025 due to an anomaly shortly after liftoff, leading to the loss of the mission.

What is next?

Zhuque-3 (ZQ-3) is a two-stage, methane-fueled, reusable launch vehicle being developed by the LandSpace. It is designed to be a heavy-lift rocket with a stainless steel structure, capable of carrying approximately 21 tonnes to low Earth orbit in an expendable configuration. The rocket features a first stage with nine Tianque-12B engines, designed for controlled landing and reuse, and aims for a maiden orbital flight in late 2025, with a goal of establishing reusable launch capabilities in China. 
 
Ok, let´s see!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Nozzles on Vacuum Optimazed Rockets vs. Nozzles on Sea Level Engines

-
Image
Why are sizes of rocket nozzles in second or upper-stage engine bigger than those used by sea-level engines? A sea-level optimized Raptor nozzle (on the left) stands next to a vacuum-optimized Raptor nozzle (on the right) at the SpaceX development facility in McGregor, Texas. Credit: SpaceX  Well, the answer is quite simple. A vacuum- optimized  rocket engine nozzle is bigger then a sea-level engine nozzle since it needs to match the significantly lower air density in the upper atmosphere and in space. Let's have a look in more detail. For a rocket engine is important to operate at its most efficient level, which means to produce the maximum amount of thrust. It is a key for the hot gases exiting the engine nozzle to match the external air ambient pressure. The importance of this is clear when you realize that the air pressure at sea level is about 1000 millibars, or 100 kPa, and it decreases with increasing altitude. The value quickly decreases with altitude to 100 millibars,...
Read more

Thrust vectoring

-
Image
Thrust vectoring, known as well as thrust vector control, is the ability of an aircraft, rocket, or other vehicle to control the direction of the thrust from its engine to control the attitude or angular velocity of the vehicle. Thrust vectoring is often referred to as gas-dynamic steering or gas-dynamic control. When rockets and ballistic missiles fly in thinner atmosphere, aerodynamic control surfaces are less effective, so thrust vectoring is the primary goal of attitude control.  For aircraft, the method originally developed to provide upward vertical thrust to give aircraft vertical (VTOL) or short (STOL) takeoff and landing ability. Later it was realized that using vectored thrust in combat situations is useful for the aircraft performance and maneuverability. Aircraft that use no thrust vectoring must rely only on aerodynamic control surfaces, such as ailerons or elevator. Aircraft with vectoring must still use control surfaces, but it is not limited so much by them. A verti...
Read more

Specific impulse

-
Image
Specific impulse  I was many times using the term specific impulse. So, let's speak about it in more detail.    Specific impulse (usually abbreviated I sp ) is a measure of how efficiently a reaction mass engine, such as a rocket using propellant or a jet engine using fuel, generates thrust. A propulsion system which has a higher specific impulse uses the mass of the propellant more efficiently than a propulsion system with lower specific impulse. Now, in the case of a rocket, this means less propellant is needed for a given delta-v, so that the vehicle attached to the engine can more efficiently gain altitude and velocity. For all vehicles specific impulse (impulse per unit weight-on-Earth of propellant) in seconds can be defined by the following equation: Thrust is force, the thrust obtained from the engine (newtons or pounds force), g 0 is the standard gravity, which is nominally the gravity at Earth's surface (m/s2), I sp is the specific impulse measured (secon...
Read more