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On October 27, 2018, Zhuque-1, a Chinese transport rocket developed by Landspace, based in Beijing, takes off from the launch pad of the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Gansu Province, China. REUTERS / Stringer
BEIJING (Reuters) – A privately developed Chinese rocket-transporter failed to reach orbit after being pulled out of the Jiuquan satellite launch center on Saturday in reaction to the country's nascent attempts to compete with Elon Musk's SpaceX.
The three-stage rocket, Zhuque-1, was developed by Landspace, a company based in Beijing. The company said in a microblog after the first and second nominal stages that the satellite had not managed to reach orbit because of a problem encountered with the third step.
"Before the launch of the rocket rocket Zhuque, its mission was already completed," said the company in its comment Saturday, without giving more details.
Founded in 2015, Landspace aimed to become the first private Chinese company to deliver a satellite in orbit. The company said it was the first licensed private company in China to launch aircraft carrier rockets.
Zhuque-1 carried a satellite called "Future", built for Chinese central television, a state-owned media.
In May, China launched in space "Chongqing Liangjiang Star", the first rocket developed by Beijing-based private company OneSpace Technology.
Since taking office in 2012, President Xi Jinping has made becoming a "superpower of spaceflight" a priority for the government, which aims to put into orbit a permanent inhabited space station around 2022.
Reportage of Pei Li and Aizhu Chen; Edited by Christopher Cushing
