LandSpace's ZQ-2 Y3 carrier rocket launches at Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Northwest China's Gansu Province on December 9, 2023. Photo: Courtesy of LandSpace

 
The ZQ-2 Y3 rocket, developed by Chinese privately-owned aerospace company LandSpace, blasted off on Saturday morning from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Northwest China's Gansu Province, taking three satellites into planned orbit.

It is the second successful flight for the company with ZQ-2 series rocket, the latest example for Chinese privately-owned aerospace companies deploying satellites into planned orbit. 

Chinese industry insiders said that China's strong industrial system with the most complete categories and the large-scale production capacity is the key reasons behind the rapid development of the domestic commercial aerospace industry.

The launch successfully delivered three commercial satellites into sun-synchronous orbit about 460 kilometers above the Earth, further highlighting the maturity and stability of the ZQ-2 carrier rocket, and also marking a step forward for the company and China's commercial aerospace industry, according to LandSpace. 

The Y3 in the rocket's name meant the craft was the third in the ZQ-2 series.

The ZQ-2 Y3 has total length of 49.5 meters, diameter of 3.35 meters, a launch weight of 220 tons and takeoff thrust of 268 tons, which is capable of placing a 1.5-ton payload into a typical sun-synchronous orbit at about 500 kilometers above the Earth. Future models could ultimately increase the payload to four tons, according to the company, adding that it can facilitate the deployment of low earth orbit satellite and cargo spacecraft. 

In July this year, the ZQ-2 Y2 completed a launch mission by delivering a sample payload into orbit. It was the world's first successful launch of methane-liquid oxygen carrier rocket, placing China amongst the leading ranks of the global space race for methane-based rocket.

Another Chinese private rocket start-up Galactic Energy on Tuesday sent two commercial satellites into twilight orbit via its self-developed CERES-1 Y9 carrier rocket following its last launch failure in September this year.

With the rapid deployment of the US' Starlink satellite constellation, the important strategic value of satellite internet in terms of global coverage, 6G communications, and special communications has sparked competition in the aerospace field represented by Internet. 

Take the US as an example. The superior launch capabilities and lower launch costs of space exploration technology companies have enabled the Starlink satellite constellation to realize fast networking with the help of technological innovation and commercial operation models, said Dai Zheng, the general manager of LandSpace's rocket research department.

Research data showed that China has deployed multiple large-scale satellite internet constellation plans, with the overall scale expected to exceed 20,000 satellites and the total launch scale expected to exceed 10,000 tons, according to Dai.

Different from the previous deployment of single satellites or small-scale constellations, the operation of satellite constellations requires the rapid deployment of a large number of satellites in different orbits in a short period of time. It has extremely high requirements for rocket launch capabilities.

The rapid development of China's commercial aerospace companies and the domestically developed rockets with cost advantages will undoubtedly greatly benefit China's internet constellation construction plan, Dai said. 

Zhang Changwu, CEO of LandSpace said China's strong industrial system is the reason behind the rapid development of commercial aerospace companies.

China's industrial system is the one with the most complete categories and the strongest large-scale production capacity in the world today. China is home to world-class enterprises in the fields of raw materials, propellants, precision processing, electronic information, and electromechanical equipment required for rocket manufacturing, Zhang said. 

The development of China's private aerospace sector has entered a critical moment with strong market demand, mature technology and government support, said Gu Xingfa, director of Institute of Remote Sensing application under the Chinese Academy of Science, during a satellite industry development conference held recently in Chengdu, Southwest China's Sichuan Province, according to news outlet thepaper.cn.

LandSpace's reusable carrier rocket ZQ-3 integrates a carrier capacity of 21.3 tons for each low orbit launch mission and 18.3 tons for recovery missions, according to the company. 

The first stage of the rocket can be used by maximum of 20 times and was scheduled to complete its first flight in 2025, which will facilitate Chinese commercial aerospace into new development era with large capacity, reusability and low cost, the company said.