Posted: Sun, Aug 17, 2025, 11:37 AM ET (1537 GMT)
A Chinese commercial Zhuque-2 rocket failed to reach orbit in a launch Thursday. The Zhuque-2E methane-liquid oxygen rocket, built by Landspace, lifted off at around 9:17 pm EDT (0117 GMT Friday) from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. Video of the launch showed a white plume coming from the vehicle less than two minutes after liftoff. Landspace confirmed the loss of the mission more than eight hours after liftoff but did not disclose details about the failure. Landspace did not identify the payloads on board. The launch was the sixth launch of the Zhuque-2 series and ended a run of four successful flights after the failure of its inaugural launch in late 2022.

Related Links:

•  SpaceNews article
•  Reuters article
•  Xinhua article