周三，中国初创公司蓝箭航天自主研制的朱雀二号运载火箭在酒泉卫星发射中心发射并入轨飞行，成为全球首款成功的液氧甲烷火箭。请看本报周四的报道：

A Chinese startup has beaten Elon Musk’s SpaceX in the race to launch a methane-fueled rocket, boosting the nation’s goal of eventually challenging the United States as the dominant power in space.

LandSpace Technology Corp. successfully launched the ZQ-2 rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the northwestern province of Gansu on Wednesday, according to CCTV.

报道中的methane-fueled rocket就是“以甲烷为燃料的火箭”，燃料是甲烷，液氧作为氧化剂。目前常见的火箭燃料有固体(solid propellant)和液体(liquid fuels)两种，液体燃料通常是液氢(liquid hydrogen)，也要加入液氧作为氧化剂。