China has successfully recovered a reusable rocket on land for the first time. The Zhuque 3 rocket, developed by the aerospace company Landspace, was launched at 7:35 a.m. from the Dongfeng Commercial Space Innovation Test Site in Gansu Province, according to China Science and Technology Daily.
About 137 seconds after launch, the first and second stages separated, with the second stage successfully placing the payload, the Honghu 03 satellite, into its intended orbit. The first stage then adjusted its flight path at an altitude of approximately 100 kilometers before returning to a designated recovery site in Minqin County, Gansu, where it landed at around 7:41 a.m.
Landspace had previously launched the Zhuque 3 in December but failed to recover the first stage. This marks a successful recovery on the rocket's second flight.
Last month, China successfully recovered the first stage of the Long March 10B rocket using a net capture system on a maritime platform. With this latest achievement, China has now succeeded in both maritime and land recovery of rockets.
The Zhuque 3 is a large reusable launch vehicle that uses liquid oxygen and methane as fuel. It is equipped with nine Tianque-12A engines in the first stage, designed to adjust thrust and return vertically to the ground after orbital insertion.
Landspace plans to inspect and maintain the recovered first stage before launching it again, targeting a relaunch in the fourth quarter of this year. The company aims to reuse the first stage up to 20 times.
However, this successful recovery does not immediately signify the completion of 'commercial reuse.' The recovered rocket must be launched again to demonstrate the economic viability and reliability of the reuse technology. Chinese media also emphasize that achieving commercialization requires repeated recoveries and re-flights to validate the technology.
A Landspace representative stated, "Fuel costs account for only 1-3% of the total rocket launch cost, while the first stage accounts for 70% of the total cost. The more we can reuse the rocket, the lower the launch costs will be."
Meanwhile, following SpaceX's successful reusable rocket launch in 2015, countries including China and India have been developing their own reusable rockets. Reusing rockets significantly reduces launch costs, enabling the deployment of more satellites at lower expenses.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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