Flight test of Chinese start-up LandSpace's rocket fails

BEIJING (Reuters) -A flight test of one of Chinese commercial rocket developer LandSpace Technology's methane-powered rockets failed on Friday after the carrier rocket experienced an "anomaly", the company 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 U.S. rivals including Elon Musk's SpaceX and Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin.

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

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.

(Reporting by Yukun Zhang, Xiuhao Chen and Ryan Woo; editing by Philippa Fletcher)

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