On December 3, Blue Arrow Aerospace Technology Co., Ltd. (referred to as Blue Arrow Aerospace) successfully delivered the second stage of the Zhuque-3 carrier rocket into the planned orbit that they independently developed. However, during the simultaneous process, the first stage of the rocket failed to be recovered and experienced abnormal combustion. Blue Arrow Aerospace is a private commercial space launch company.
According to reports from mainland Chinese media, on December 3, the Zhuque-3 Yao-Yi carrier rocket was launched into space at the Dongfeng Commercial Aerospace Innovation Test Area. The second stage of the rocket entered the planned orbit successfully. However, during the simultaneous process of verifying the first-stage rocket recovery, abnormal combustion occurred, preventing a soft landing at the recovery site. The recovery test was declared a failure, and the specific reasons are currently being analyzed and investigated.
The development team is expected to promptly conduct a comprehensive review and technical analysis of the test process to identify the cause of the malfunction and optimize the recovery plan.
The Zhuque-3 is a new generation reusable liquid oxygen methane carrier rocket independently developed by Blue Arrow Aerospace Technology. The fairing diameter of the Zhuque-3 Yao-Yi carrier rocket is 5.2 meters, with an overall length of 66.1 meters. It has a body diameter of 4.5 meters, a fairing diameter of 5.2 meters, a liftoff mass of approximately 570 tons, and a liftoff thrust exceeding 750 tons. The first stage features reaction control systems, grid fins, and landing legs, enabling vertical return and reuse after orbital launch.
The Zhuque-3 utilizes stainless steel as the primary structural material for its body and is powered by the Tianque series liquid oxygen methane engines. The market has shown significant interest in its maiden flight. Previously, in October, Elon Musk, the founder of SpaceX, had made comments on the rocket on the social platform X.
At 9:17 am on August 15th this year, the Blue Arrow Aerospace Zhuque-2 improved type Yao-San carrier rocket ignited and took off at the Dongfeng Commercial Aerospace Innovation Test Area. However, the rocket encountered abnormalities during flight, resulting in a mission failure. It was reported that the cause of the flight failure may be related to a rocket servo mechanism circuit malfunction.
In late 2014, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) opened up certain areas of the space industry to private capital, leading to the emergence of hundreds of aerospace companies engaging in various sectors such as launches, satellite operations and manufacturing, ground stations, downstream applications, and more. Blue Arrow Aerospace was one of the private aerospace companies established in mainland China, back in 2015.
In recent years, the CCP has heavily promoted “civil-military integration,” with these private companies being seen as having official ties to the CCP.