On the morning of August 19, LandSpace’s Zhuque-3 Y2 rocket lifted off from the Dongfeng Commercial Space Innovation Test Area. After deploying its second stage and payload into orbit, the rocket’s first stage touched down softly at a recovery site in Gansu province using deployable landing legs.
It was China’s first successful land-based recovery of an orbital-class rocket booster that had just completed an orbital mission – a feat previously achieved only by SpaceX.
The benchmark for reusable rockets remains SpaceX’s Falcon 9, which pioneered vertical landing after launches of this kind and has conducted hundreds of recoveries. Through first-stage reuse, Falcon 9 has driven its launch price down to about US$2,700 per kg (US$1,225 per lb) – a reduction of 85 per cent from an average of US$18,500 in the pre-reusable era. In contrast, China’s commercial launch prices hover at between US$8,000 and US$14,000 per kg, depending on rocket type and mission profile.
The Zhuque-3 is explicitly designed to close that gap. Standing 66 metres tall with a lift-off mass of roughly 570 tonnes, its first stage is powered by nine methane-liquid oxygen engines. Its stainless-steel structure – a deliberate departure from Falcon 9’s aluminium alloy – offers better heat resistance at a lower manufacturing cost. The booster is designed to be reused at least 20 times.
China becomes first nation to recover orbital launch rockets with 2 distinct paths