Landspace launched its first reusable rocket, Zhuque-3. It successfully reached orbit, but the attempt to land the first stage ended in failure.
In terms of its characteristics, Zhuque-3 roughly corresponds to SpaceX’s famous Falcon 9. It has a two-stage design, and its body is made of stainless steel. Zhuque-3 is 66 m high, 4.5 m in diameter, and weighs 570 tons when fully fueled.
The first stage of Zhuque-3 is equipped with nine engines running on methane and liquid oxygen. According to Landspace, its rocket can deliver up to 21 tons of cargo into low orbit in a single-use configuration and up to 18.3 tons in a reusable first stage mode.
The debut launch of Zhuque-3 took place on December 3. The rocket was launched from the Jiuquan Space Center. Its second stage successfully reached orbit. However, the attempt to land the first stage ended in failure. Judging by videos posted on social media, an explosion occurred when the engines were restarted. As a result, the stage, engulfed in flames, fell onto the landing pad.
This is a spectacular view of the fiery, failed Zhuque-3 first stage landing attempt over the desert. https://t.co/amZBLFWupG https://t.co/L51Dcq3XDL pic.twitter.com/x1Dg802mFP
— Andrew Jones (@AJ_FI) December 3, 2025
Despite the failure, the launch of Zhuque-3 was an important milestone for Chinese space exploration. Currently, a large number of both private and state-owned companies in China are working on the creation of rockets with reusable first stages. The next to attempt this task will be the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation. In the near future, it plans to launch the Long March 12A rocket, whose first stage is also reusable.
