Chinese Privately Developed Rocket Fails To Reach Orbit

schwit1 shares a report: A privately developed Chinese carrier rocket failed to reach orbit after lifting off from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on Saturday, in a blow to the country's nascent attempts by private companies 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, without giving further details.

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