The Chinese company Landspace is preparing to launch the Zhuque-3 rocket. This is the first rocket in Chinese history with a reusable first stage.
According to the airspace closure notice issued by the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), the launch attempt will take place on November 29. The rocket will be launched from the Jiuquan Space Center. The landing zone for its first stage is located approximately 390 km southeast of Jiuquan, in Minqin County, Gansu Province.
The upcoming launch will be China’s first attempt to return the first stage of a rocket from space. In terms of its characteristics, Zhuque-3 is roughly equivalent to SpaceX’s famous Falcon 9. It has a two-stage design and its body is made of stainless steel. Zhuque-3 is 66 meters high, 4.5 meters in diameter, and weighs 570 tons when 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.
In preparation for the upcoming flight, Landspace conducted a full-scale rehearsal of the Zhuque-3 launch, including full fueling and fire testing of the first stage. The mission’s payload is a prototype spacecraft designed to supply the Tiangong space station.
Landspace is far from the only Chinese company developing reusable rockets. In addition, the state is also actively working in this area. In early December, the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation plans to launch the Long March 12A rocket, whose first stage is also reusable.
According to Spacenews
