The Chinese private aerospace company Landspace is preparing for a historic attempt to land an orbital rocket booster. The mission involves their Zhuque-3 rocket, a 66-meter-tall stainless steel vehicle powered by methane-liquid oxygen engines, similar in capabilities to SpaceX’s Falcon 9. In December 2025, Landspace launched Zhuque-3 for the first time: while the second stage successfully reached orbit, the first stage exploded during its final powered descent toward the landing pad. Now, the company is trying again. The planned launch (scheduled for August 10–11, 2026, from the Jiuquan spaceport) will be China’s fourth overall attempt to safely recover an orbital booster. Previous attempts included other Chinese rockets (Long March 12A and Long March 10B), with the July 10, 2026, mission proving successful: China became only the second country in the world to land an orbital booster (using a net-capture system). If successful, this milestone would further advance the development of reusable launch vehicles, potentially reducing the cost of space missions.
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