LandSpace's ZQ-1 fails to reach its target orbit due to technical issues after a July 2018 launch. Photo: VCG

LandSpace, a Chinese private-sector aerospace enterprise, conducted a successful test of the semi-system generator called TQ-12 on Monday, laying the foundation for its whole-system generator test in the first half of 2019 and the launch of its first liquid oxygen methane rocket in 2020.

The generator was developed independently by the company and it is also a critical component of the design of the second liquid propellant carrier rocket called ZQ-2, according to a report by xinhuanet.com in July 2018, citing company Chief Technology Officer Kang Yonglai. 

The cost-effectiveness and practicability of the liquid oxygen methane generator will radically alter the aerospace industry in China, according to Kang. 

The first rocket, called ZQ-1, was launched in 2018 but failed to reach its target orbit due to technical issues.

The Chinese government is encouraging private capital to take part in the aerospace sector. LandSpace, one of the pioneers, is sometimes likened to the US' SpaceX.

"It is not appropriate to compare LandSpace with SpaceX, due to the different development path taken by Chinese private-sector aerospace companies," Huang Zhicheng, an expert of space technology, told the Global Times.