REUTERS/Stringer

BEIJING (Reuters) - 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 first and second stage of the Zhuque-1 rocket operated as it should have, according to Beijing-based Landspace, which developed the spacecraft. There are reports that the failure of attitude control on the third stage resulted in the loss of the spacecraft as it was unable to reach the planned Sun-synchronous orbit (SSO). “Before Zhuque carrier rocket was launched, its mission was already completed,” the company said in the post on Saturday, without giving further details. Landspace was founded in 2015 and soon aimed to be the first Chinese private company to deliver a satellite into orbit. READ MORE: Oxygen discovery ‘completely changes’ potential for life on Mars - study

“If the launch mission can go well, the ZQ-1 will become China's first private carrier rocket that can send satellites into space,” said LandSpace CEO Zhang Changwu ahead of the groundbreaking launch, which followed nine months of development. The statement did say building such rockets is “the right decision for the company.”

The satellite involved in the launch was being carried for state media China Central Television (CCTV), according to Chinese media reports cited by Reuters and the AP.
Beijing-based private development space launch company LandSpace's three-stage rocket, Zhuque-1, carrying a satellite named Future built for state media China Central Television, fails to reach orbit.