Technology

First Launch For Chinese SpaceX Competition Fails To Put Satellite Into Orbit

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China’s privately developed attempt to launch a satellite into Earth’s orbit failed during the final stage of its flight Saturday.

An “abnormality” in the third stage of the Zhuque-1 rocket failed to put the CCTV satellite, named “Future,” into orbit, according to a Saturday Weibo post from LandSpace, the firm that developed and secured a license to launch the rocket.

LandSpace has yet to release information on how the mishap occurred, and a statement from spokesman Guo Xin says the company is investigating, CNN reports.

The Zhuque-1 three-stage rocket launched from a platform at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China. LandSpace says it’s the first Chinese company to acquire a license to launch such a payload into space.

“The rocket flew normally after launch, the first and second levels worked normally, the fairing separated normally, and the third level was abnormal,” LandSpace’s long-form post to Weibo, China’s Twitter-like social media platform, said of its mission.

OneSpace, another Chinese rocketry firm, successfully launched a suborbital rocket flight in May that boasted “the first rocket developed and built entirely with homegrown technology,” according to CNN.

SpaceX is headed for its third launch of a single reusable rocket, the Falcon 9, on Nov. 19, according to Ars Technica, and has reportedly obtained clients for its Falcon Heavy semi-reusable rocket, which launched a Tesla car into space Feb. 6.

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