Posted on 07/13/2023 12:23:09 PM PDT by Red Badger
The Zhuque-2 rocket lifts off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China on Wednesday China said the rocket completed the flight mission. Wang Jiangbo/Xinhua via EPA-EFE
July 12 (UPI) -- A methane-fueled rocket, launched by China, has reached orbit for the first time, beating out potential competitors from the United States and indicating a renewed effort by that nation to land astronauts on the moon with a more powerful spacecraft.
Built by Landspace, a private Chinese company, the 164-foot Zhuque-2 rocket lifted off from its Jiuquan launch complex, in China's Inner Mongolia, on Wednesday morning local time, Chinese officials said.
Zhuque is Chinese for vermillion rocket.
The U.S. Space Force reported that the rocket upper stage carried a "mass" and that it was circling Earth along a polar flight path inclined 97.3 degrees on the Equator at altitudes between 270 and 287 miles.
The launch follows a first attempt in December 2022, when the Zhuque-2 rocket failed and several satellites were lost. Pictures of the launch clearly show the distinctive bluish color of burning methane. The four engines have a combined thrust of 268 metric tons.
According to Chinese state media, a new rocket, more powerful rocket using methane could be used to carry a spacecraft that will land on the moon, while a sister ship is to transport Chinese astronauts.
This space record stands out even more, considering failed attempts by numerous companies using methane as a propellant, which is less polluting, cheaper and safer than rockets used now.
Competitors for the new technology include SpaceX, whose Starship exploded minutes after liftoff April 20. The ULA Vulcan, Blue Origin's New Glenn, Rocket Lab's Neutron and Relativity Space's Terran R all intend to use a combination of methane and oxygen.
A different type of rocket, also Chinese, flew in early April for the first time, using a kerosene variety derived from coal, rather than oil, and successfully placed its payload into orbit.
Ping!....................
Cow farts?
Don’t try this alone in your back yard or anywhere!
The Chinese can’t do this! It’s going to cause global warming! Think of the Ert!
LOL!
There are NO private companies in Communist China.
The Chinese Communist Party is so self-conscious, and so insecure, it has to pretend that - just like the USA - China has private companies building privately owned rockets.
China steals or counterfeits everything!
And have for thousands of years. It is part of their 'culture'. The idea of 'Intellectual Property' is completely foreign to them. If you discover a better way to make a mousetrap, they believe that they should be able to make that mousetrap without paying you a cent. It is the way they think and always have..................
bkmk
From what I’ve seen, this is true.
I used to work for a guy that had a wireless speaker system he wanted to produce commercially. This was back in 1992. He contracted with a company in Taiwan to build it and they stole it..............
“a private Chinese company”: sorry, no such thing.
China is playing catch-up to Elon Musk.
huh...
I was wondering what that smell was this morning...
In no way is this the first methane fueled rocket. Lolol.
There would have to be at least one for the Chinese to steal.
China steals or counterfeits everything!
And have for thousands of years.
—
Actually, stealing others IP is a recent phenomenon. Theft, as a state sponsored method, began around the same time as Mao took over.
List of things invented by the Chinese:
Eatable/food stuff
Apples, apricot, oranges, peaches, the lemon, grapefruit - a modified descendant of the Chinese pomelo, the Chinese persimmon, shoots of the young bamboo, water chestnut, the sweet lichee nut, noodles, ice cream-like deserts, pasta, the tea rose, the soy bean, whiskey
Military
fireworks, the compass, the crossbow, kites, the parachute, cigar shaped hot-air balloon, “man-flying kites”, antiaircraft fire (shooting down kites with arrows), manned rockets - (Wan Hu reportedly attached 47 gunpowder rockets to his chair, lit the fuses and took off, and was never seen again), burning mirrors and curved mirrors, poison gas, the stink bomb, flame thrower
Flowers
the chrysanthemum, the tea rose, the camellia, the azalea, the China aster, the tall woody-stemmed tree peony, the ginkgo or maidenhair tree
Medical
eye drops, chaulmoogra oil - the only known means for treating leprosy, ephedrine - used for treating colds
Personal
umbrellas, the folding umbrella, belts, buckled belts, plaques, buckles, trousers, sunglasses, mirrors, toilet paper, chairs, the sedan chair or palanquin, wallpaper, toilet paper
Multimedia
playing cards, paper, dominoes, camera obscura, yo-yos, the magic lantern (or zoetrope), goldfish, chess, the spoon, dice, shadow play
Arts
wood block printing, phosphorescent paint, the spinning wheel, sliding calipers, porcelain, lost-wax casting and metalworking techniques used in making wire and chains
Nautical
fishing reels, the rudder, dry docks, watertight bulkheads
Concepts
the decimal point, the concept of zero, the Mohist classic of Chinese physics elaborated a theory of optics, the first to notice that all snowflakes had six sides, musical Harmonia [1578].
Transportation
wheeled transport, chariots, cavalry tactics
Misc
lacquer, the wheelbarrow, the seismograph, weather cocks and vanes, wind direction devices, fingerprinting, tung oil - for varnishes, woven silk, peacock-feather fans and screen fans, compasses, soccer (Cuju)
Chinese inventions were used mainly for the amusement of the emperor rather than moving an economic society forward.
http://factsanddetails.com/china/cat2/4sub7/item30.html
They should paint a squatting cow at the bottom of those rockets.
I believe China is first to reach orbit. Elon's blowed up real good on a test launch.
The Chinese are inventive.
The so-called Chinese wheelbarrow -a one wheeled cart - came to be after the Fall of Empire and the roads deteriorated to the point you could only run a one wheel cart.
So, there is this to point to....
Much more here - https://www.lowtechmagazine.com/2011/12/the-chinese-wheelbarrow.html
Has photos of said wheelbarrows and images of some with sails to help move the goods.
“List of things invented by the Chinese:
Eatable/food stuff”
Don’t forget dogs boiled alive. Yum. F$%king human locusts.
Their first one, at least.
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