Chinese Zhuque-2E Rocket Creates Spectacular Light Show Over Australia

The Zhuque-2E Y6 rocket, developed by Chinese private aerospace company LandSpace and launched from the Dongfeng space innovation pilot zone, produced a vivid aerial display over eastern Australia on the evening of Tuesday, June 10, 2026. Photographs captured a bright blue-white cone-shaped plume against the darkening sky, consistent with the rocket venting excess propellant gases — a process experts call passivation — as it ascended into orbit. Because the rocket was high enough above the atmosphere to still be illuminated by sunlight even after darkness had fallen on the ground below, the expelled gas cloud reflected sunlight back toward Earth, creating the glowing effect. Observers on the ground reported a silvery or blue-tinted ball of gas that gradually turned red before disappearing, a colour shift explained by the rocket and its plume moving into Earth's shadow — the same optical effect that reddens clouds at sunset. LandSpace declared the mission a success, with the rocket's 6-tonne payload of two telecommunications satellites successfully delivered to orbit. Astrophysicists quoted across multiple outlets noted that the growing pace of commercial launches by China, the US, and potentially India means Australians should expect to see similar events more frequently in coming years. However, experts also cautioned that increased launch activity contributes to upper-atmosphere pollution and space debris, which can interfere with astronomical observation and eventually re-enter Earth's atmosphere as fireballs.