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Zhuque-1, a privately developed Chinese carrier rocket by Beijing-based Landspace, lifts off the launch pad at Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Gansu Province, China October 27, 2018. REUTERS / Stringer
BEIJING (Reuters) – A privately developed Chinese rocket rocket failed to reach orbit after lifting off Jiuquan's Satellite Launch Center on Saturday, in a bid to rival Elon Musk's SpaceX.
The three-stage rocket, Zhuque-1, was developed by Beijing-based Landspace. The company said in a microblog post after nominal first and second stages that the spacecraft failed to reach orbit as a result of an issue with the third stage.
"Before Zhuque carrier rocket was launched, its mission was already completed," the company said in the post on Saturday, with no further details.
Landspace was founded in 2015 and soon to be the first Chinese private company to deliver satellite to orbit. The company said it was the first private company in China to launch carrier rockets.
Zhuque-1 was carrying a satellite named "Future" built for state media China Central Television.
In May, China launched "Chongqing Liangjiang Star" into space, the first rocket developed by Beijing-based private firm OneSpace Technology.
Since coming to office in 2012, President Xi Jinping has made a "space flight superpower" a priority for the government, which has a goal of sending a permanent space station to orbit by around 2022.
Reporting by Li Pei and Aizhu Chen; Editing by Christopher Cushing
