LandSpace's TQ-15A passes tests & Zhuque-2 'Block 2' to debut
This post was originally published on Ko-fi on March 7th 2024.
Today, the 7th of March, LandSpace announced via an update on Weixin/WeChat that its TQ-15A engine has passed assembly and acceptance testing.
The new engine is believed to give Zhuque-2's second-stage an almost 12% increase in performance and a specific impulse improvement of 126m/s. The testing also led to LandSpace knowing that the engine can be safely throttled between sixty and one-hundred percent.
The new TQ-15A engine is expected to debut on the second batch of the Zhuque-2 rocket and increase its payload capacity to a sun-synchronus orbit, this is believed to be a little over 4,000 kilograms now.
The second batch of Zhuque-2 rockets is believed to have begun final assembly with three launches planned this year, and six planned for next year.
The engine is being developed as part of LandSpace's push for a 2025 debut launch of its reusable Zhuque-3 rocket, which will also use a TQ-15A on its second-stage. Also being developed alongside the TQ-15A is the TQ-12A engine.
LandSpace currently uses four TQ-12As on the first-stage of the Zhuque-2 rocket and plans to use nine on the Zhuque-3 rocket.
LandSpace has stated that these new engines have completed over ten-thousand seconds of firings over nine test engines, with one engine burning for two-thousand four-hundred and sixty seconds in a single test.
The company also stated that they have developed all the key technologies needed for ahead of major development of the Zhuque-3 rocket.
What are Zhuque-2 & 3?
For those who do not know, here is a short rundown of Zhuque-2 & 3.
Zhuque-2 is LandSpace's operational methalox, liquid methane and liquid oxygen, liquid fuel two-stage rocket capable of lifting a believed 6,000 kilograms into a 200-kilometer orbit or 4,000 kilograms into a sun-synchronous orbit. The Zhuque-2 rocket is powered by four TQ-12 Methane-Oxygen engines on the first-stage and a single vacuum-optimized TQ-12 engine on the second-stage, this is now expected to switch to the TQ-15A.
Zhuque-3 is LandSpace's in-development partially re-usable medium to heavy lift launch vehicle aiming to lift up to 21,300 kilograms to low Earth orbit when expended, 18,300 kilograms when landing downrange on a drone ship or landing pad, or 12,500 kilograms when returning to the launch site. The first-stage is planned to be powered by nine TQ-12A engines and one TQ-15A engine on the second-stage.