China launches Zhuque-3, achieving its first rocket recovery on land

[Beijingwalker]

China becomes first nation to recover orbital launch rockets with 2 distinct paths​

Zhuque-3 reaches orbit and has its first stage recovered, pulling off a dual-track strategy even the US has yet to execute​

Published: 8:28am, 19 Aug 2026

In a global first, leading Chinese commercial rocket company LandSpace has recovered a stainless-steel booster after an orbital launch, marking a major step in the country’s efforts to develop lower-cost, reusable rockets.

made from aluminium alloys, which can be more expensive to develop due to higher design and raw material costs.

China is also the first country to succeed in orbital launch recovery down distinct technological pathways, pulling off a dual-track strategy that even the United States – which pioneered reusable rocket technology – has yet to execute.

The Zhuque-3 is China’s first commercial rocket to both reach orbit and have its first stage recovered.

LandSpace also became the fourth entity – after US companies SpaceX and Blue Origin, and state-owned China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) – to achieve controlled recovery of a reusable vehicle from an orbital launch.

Like SpaceX’s Falcon 9 and Blue Origin’s New Glenn, Zhuque-3 uses landing legs to recover its rockets.

China becomes first to recover orbital launch rockets with 2 distinct paths

Zhuque-3 reaches orbit and has its first stage recovered, pulling off a dual-track strategy even the US has yet to execute.

www.scmp.com

 

[Beijingwalker]

China's Zhuque-3 rocket completes land recovery, with Huzhou-made engines​

chinadaily.com.cn | Updated: Aug 19, 2026

The Zhuque-3 Y2 rocket blasts off at the Dongfeng commercial space innovation pilot zone in Northwest China. [Photo/WeChat account: huzhoufabu]

LandSpace's Zhuque-3 Y2 reusable carrier rocket completed its first-stage land recovery on Aug 19, marking China's first successful land recovery of an orbital-class rocket. The rocket was powered by engines manufactured in Huzhou, Zhejiang province.

The 66.1-meter rocket lifted off at 7:35 am from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center and sent the Honghu 03 satellite into its preset orbit. After separating from the second stage, the first stage returned through the atmosphere, reignited its engine for powered deceleration, deployed four landing legs and touched down upright at a recovery site in Minqin county, Gansu province, about 390 kilometers from the launch site.

The mission makes LandSpace the first Chinese private space company to recover an orbital-class rocket booster on land. It also means China has now demonstrated both land- and sea-based rocket recovery capabilities, following the successful sea recovery of a Long March 10B first-stage booster last month.

The Zhuque-3 Y2 first stage is powered by nine Tianque-12A liquid oxygen-methane fueled rocket engines. The engines, which provide the thrust needed for both launch and recovery, are made at LandSpace's propulsion manufacturing base in Huzhou.

According to Dong Kai, deputy chief designer of Zhuque-3, the first stage accounts for more than 70 percent of the rocket's manufacturing cost and is designed for at least 20 reuses, which could help reduce the cost of individual launches.

China's Zhuque-3 rocket completes land recovery, with Huzhou-made engines

LandSpace's Zhuque-3 Y2 reusable carrier rocket completed its first-stage land recovery on Aug 19, marking China's first successful land recovery of an orbital-class rocket. The rocket was powered by engines manufactured in Huzhou, Zhejiang province.

regional.chinadaily.com.cn

 

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