China has achieved an unprecedented milestone in the space launch sector by recovering, for the first time on solid ground, the first stage of a rocket after completing an orbital flight. This feat was accomplished by Zhuque-3, a vehicle developed by the private Chinese space company LandSpace, during a launch conducted at the Dongfeng Commercial Space Innovation Test Zone.
The launch took place on Wednesday, the 19th, according to China's local time, which corresponded to Tuesday night, the 18th, in Brazil. After completing its orbital phase, the rocket's first stage returned to Earth and executed a controlled vertical landing in the designated recovery area, located in Minqin, Gansu province.
This success signals a significant advancement for China's commercial space program and positions LandSpace among entities that have demonstrated the practical capability to recover an orbital rocket stage on land. The purpose of this technology is to enable the reuse of parts of the vehicle in subsequent missions, aiming to reduce operational costs and increase launch frequency.
LandSpace had already been conducting specific tests to develop this functionality. In January 2024, a test vehicle equipped with the Tianque-12 engine performed a takeoff followed by a vertical landing after reaching approximately 350 meters in altitude. This landing occurred about 2.4 meters from the planned point, with a speed of only 0.75 meters per second.
In September of the same year, another trial elevated the technology to over ten kilometers in altitude, including the disconnection and reconnection of the engine during the flight.
This week's successful landing also constitutes an important recovery for LandSpace, coming after an initial unsuccessful attempt. The inaugural flight of Zhuque-3 occurred in December 2025. On that occasion, the second stage successfully placed the payload into orbit, but the first stage did not complete the recovery. The propellant suffered an anomaly during the final phase of the landing attempt and was damaged. According to information released by the state agency Xinhua, there was an abnormal combustion during the recovery process.
Even despite the failure, the first mission generated crucial data for system improvement. LandSpace was able to analyze the behavior of the structure and thermal protection during reentry, as well as the aerodynamic control and mechanisms used to guide the stage during descent. The company also evaluated the navigation algorithms during the reentry and engine restart phases. Thus, although the first landing was a failure, the mission helped identify areas needing correction before a new attempt.
It is essential to contextualize the Zhuque-3 achievement, as China had previously recovered an orbital rocket first stage. In July 2026, the country recovered the first stage of a Long March-10B after its inaugural flight. The distinction lies in the fact that this stage was captured by a structure installed on a maritime vessel, rather than executing a vertical landing on legs.
Therefore, Zhuque-3 represents a new phase in this technology: it is the first Chinese rocket to achieve an orbital recovery on land, with the first stage returning in a controlled manner and landing vertically. This difference is also relevant because LandSpace's strategy follows a concept similar to that adopted by SpaceX in its Falcon 9 rockets. Instead of discarding the first stage in the ocean, the vehicle uses its own engines to slow down and return to the surface, where it can be recovered and prepared for a new flight.
With this, China now employs two distinct methodologies for recovering orbital rocket stages: capture at sea, demonstrated by Long March-10B, and vertical landing on land, now proven by Zhuque-3. This technology is seen as strategic for the growth of China's commercial space sector. Zhuque-3 was designed for a new generation of vehicles capable of performing launches with lower costs, higher payload capacity, and greater frequency.
The reuse of the first stage can decrease the number of components that need to be produced for each mission. Instead of building a new propellant for every launch, the company can recover, inspect, and prepare the same stage for future flights. This model was popularized by SpaceX, which established the recovery and reuse of Falcon 9 first stages as a routine operation. China seeks to develop proprietary technologies to compete in this segment, both through state-owned enterprises and private companies.
In the specific case of Zhuque-3, LandSpace opted for methane and liquid oxygen-powered engines, a combination also used by SpaceX in the Starship system. The Chinese rocket has a projected capacity to carry up to 18.3 tons to low Earth orbit when the first stage is recovered. However, the success of the landing does not imply that China has reached the same level of operational maturity as SpaceX; Zhuque-3 is still in its early development phase and has only demonstrated orbital recovery on land for the first time. Nevertheless, this result eliminates one of the primary technological barriers for China to begin operating partially reusable launchers on a commercial scale.
It is expected that technologies of this type will be applied to expand China's capacity to put satellites into orbit, especially as the country works on expanding large low-Earth orbit satellite constellations and strengthening its commercial space sector.