Chinese private aerospace company Landspace successfully launched six satellites into orbit early Saturday, marking the fifth flight of its methane-fueled Zhuque-2 rocket series and showcasing continued innovation in China’s growing commercial space sector.
The second Zhuque-2E lifts off from Jiuquan, May 17, 2025, carrying six Tianyi satellites into orbit. Credit: Landspace
The Zhuque-2E rocket lifted off at 12:12 a.m. Eastern Time (0412 UTC) on May 17 from the Dongfeng Commercial Space Innovation Test Area at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China. The launch carried a payload of six Tianyi-series satellites for commercial satellite manufacturer Spacety, in collaboration with various partners.
- The satellite payload included a mix of commercial and scientific missions:
- Tianyi-42 will deliver C-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery;
- Tianyi-29 and Tianyi-35 will focus on optical remote sensing;
- Tianyi-34, 45, and 46 will conduct space science experiments.
Among the science-focused satellites, Tianyi-45, part of the Tiansuan constellation led by the Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, is equipped with argon ion thrusters, enabling active deorbit control—a growing concern in space sustainability. Tianyi-34 carries advanced instruments including gamma-ray burst and X-ray polarization detectors, as well as an aurora observation camera.
This mission marked the second flight of the upgraded Zhuque-2E, a more powerful variant of the original Zhuque-2. Capable of placing 4,000 kilograms into a 500-kilometer sun-synchronous orbit, the rocket now features a widened 4.2-meter composite payload fairing. The first Zhuque-2E launch occurred in November 2024 and successfully deployed two satellites that later demonstrated a 400 Gbps laser intersatellite link.
Landspace introduced several new technologies with this latest launch, including upgraded Tianque-12A engines on the first stage and a niobium-tungsten alloy extended nozzle on the second stage's Tianque-15A engine. The company also highlighted its first implementation of quasi-real-time wind correction trajectory design, which it claims is a domestic first for China’s commercial space industry.
The success adds to the momentum of the Zhuque-2 series, which has now flown five times. After a failed debut in December 2022, Zhuque-2 made headlines in July 2023 by becoming the first methane-fueled rocket globally to reach orbit—a milestone in the race toward cleaner and more efficient rocket propulsion.
In the backdrop of Saturday’s launch, observers noted visible infrastructure for the much-anticipated Zhuque-3, Landspace’s next-generation, stainless-steel methane rocket. The massive two-stage vehicle will stand 76.6 meters tall, span 4.5 meters in diameter, and be capable of delivering 21,000 kilograms to low Earth orbit in its expendable configuration. Integration tests for Zhuque-3 were completed in April, and a static fire test is expected in June.
Saturday’s launch marked China’s 27th orbital mission of 2025, reflecting an accelerated launch cadence. It follows three missions earlier in the week, including the classified TJS-19 satellite to geosynchronous orbit, a Yaogan-40 (02) group via Long March 6A, and 12 on-orbit computing satellites aboard a Long March 2D.
The pace continues next week with at least four more missions scheduled. These include a Ceres-1 sea-based launch from off the coast of Shandong on May 19, a Long March 7A from Wenchang on May 20, a Kinetica-1 solid rocket from Jiuquan on May 21, and the much-anticipated launch of the Tianwen-2 asteroid sample return mission from Xichang between May 28–30.
Landspace’s latest success underlines the growing sophistication of China’s private space industry and its increasing role in the nation's space ambitions, from Earth observation to deep space exploration.
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