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China reusable rocket technology development

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2026-08-19 02:10 UTC → 2026-08-19 03:12 UTC · added ~~removed~~

China has achieved significant milestones in reusable rocket technology through both state and private sector efforts. In July, the Long March 10B rocket successfully recovered its first-stage booster, making China the second nation to demonstrate reusable booster recovery. While this achievement narrowed the technical gap with the United States, analysts noted that China had not yet demonstrated the ability to reflown the recovered stage. Following this, the private company LandSpace successfully completed the land-based recovery of its Zhuque-3 orbital-class booster using landing legs in Gansu Province. The Zhuque-3 mission, which utilized a stainless steel structure and liquid oxygen-methane propellant, also deployed the Honghu 03 satellite into orbit. LandSpace indicated that its technology could potentially reduce launch costs by up to 70% by allowing for at least 20 reuses per rocket. In August 2026, LandSpace achieved a further milestone by completing the first controlled land recovery of an orbital-class rocket’s first stage in China. The Zhuque-3 rocket, a 66.1-meter tall vehicle, successfully deployed the Honghu 03 satellite before its first stage performed a vertical landing on solid ground. The first stage utilizes nine Tianque-12A engines, which provide thrust modulation between 40% and 110% to enable precise recovery. This success marks a transition for LandSpace from technological verification toward the engineering application of reusable systems intended to support large-scale satellite constellations.

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