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In the past few months, space enthusiasts have been discussing an interesting question:
在过去的几个月里，太空爱好者一直在讨论一个有趣的问题:
Which rocket, using liquid oxygen and methane as propellants, will reach the orbit first?
哪一枚使用液氧甲烷作为推进剂的火箭将首先入轨飞行？
The contenders included the American rockets Starship, Vulcan, and New Glenn, as well as the Chinese rocket ZhuQue-2.
竞争者包括了美国的“星舰”、“火神”和“新格伦”火箭，以及中国的“朱雀二号”火箭。
Ultimately, the latter emerged as the winner of this unofficial race.
最终，“朱雀二号”成为了这场非官方竞赛的优胜者。
ZhuQue-2 is a creation of the Chinese company LandSpace, and stands nearly 50 meters tall.
“朱雀二号”火箭是由中国蓝箭航天公司研发的，高近50米。
This medium-lift launcher can deliver up to six tons of payload to a 200-kilometer orbit.
在200公里的近地轨道上，该中型运载火箭的运载能力高达6吨。
The rockets first launch in December of last year, ended in the second stage failure, and it failed to reach the orbit.
“朱雀二号”火箭于去年12月首次发射，以第二级飞行过程中出现故障告终，未能进入预定轨道。
On July 12, at one o'clock Universal Time, the rocket conducted its second launch at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center.
7月12日，世界标准时间1点整，“朱雀二号”火箭在酒泉卫星发射中心进行了第二次发射。
The quartet of TQ-12 rocket engines on the first stage, as well as one engine on the second stage, burn methane for economic and technological reasons.
火箭的第一级的四台天阙-12发动机以及第二级的一台发动机，燃料均为液氧甲烷，这是出于经济及技术上的需求。
According to LandSpace, the use of methane reduces fuel costs by 50-90 percent compared to similar Chinese rockets.
据蓝箭航天公司透露，与中国类似的火箭相比，采用甲烷可以减少50-90%的燃料成本。
Additionally, methane is non-toxic and has less negative environmental impact than hypergolic propellants.
此外，甲烷无毒无害，相比自燃推进剂，对环境的负面影响更小。
