BEIJING (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 15th December, 2022) Chinese commercial carrier rocket Zhuque-2 (ZQ-2) has failed to reach orbit during its first launch, the rocket's producer, LandSpace Technology, reported on Thursday.
According to the company's statement, the rocket performed a nominal first stage flight, however, at the second stage it failed to reach orbital velocity due to malfunctioning of its vernier thrusters.
The launch took place at 4:30 p.m. local time (08:30 GMT) on Wednesday at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center located in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.
ZQ-2 is a two-stage carrier rocket with a total length of almost 50 meters (164 feet) and 3.35 meters in diameter powered by liquid oxygen and methane engines. The rocket has a liftoff weight of 219 tonnes and produces 268 tonnes of thrust. It is capable of lifting 4 tonnes of payload into a low Earth orbit.
