China is starting to increase its launch cadence again after a slow start to 2023. This week saw three launches in the Chang Zheng family while several more non-Chang Zheng vehicles were spotted on launch pads at Jiuquan. Satellite Imagery of Jiuquan Recently published satellite imagery showed new Chinese commercial vehicles on multiple pads at Jiuquan. At the pad used by LandSpace, a ZQ-2-like body has been spotted vertically. It was later removed again. ZQ-2 was the first ever methane-based rocket to attempt to reach orbit but failed after an early shutdown of the third stage. The pictures could show a pathfinder previously stored next to the pad for checkouts and tests of the pad infrastructure. However, this could also be part of LandSpace preparing for flight two of its methane rocket. The ZQ-2 pathfinder vehicle had been sitting outside of the hangar for nearly a year now, however last week it disappeared (see gif). This means there could be a chance that the vehicle out on the launch pad right now is this pathfinder. pic.twitter.com/vw7lfgPsAb — Harry Stranger (@Harry__Stranger) March 12, 2023 The company has not yet given a timeline for the return to flight, but imagery before the…
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Commercial rockets spotted amidst Chinese launch tripleheader
