LandSpace Becomes First Private Chinese Firm to Land a Reusable Rocket on Land

Chinese startup LandSpace landed the first stage of its Zhuque-3 rocket upright on land on August 18, 2026, becoming the first private Chinese company to recover an orbital-class rocket booster. It was only the second Chinese orbital rocket landing overall — the first, by state-owned China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation's Long March 10B, touched down at sea in July using a net-equipped ship.

The mission lifted off from the Dongfeng Commercial Space Innovation Pilot Zone in northwest China. About 137 seconds after liftoff, the first and second stages separated; the second stage went on to deliver the Honghu 03 satellite, built by Hongqing Technology, into its planned orbit. The first stage then made a soft landing on legs at LandSpace's Landing Site No. 1 in Minqin County, Gansu Province.

Zhuque-3 broadly resembles SpaceX's Falcon 9, standing about 216 feet (66 meters) tall against the Falcon 9's 230 feet (70 meters), and using folding landing legs in a similar style. Unlike the Falcon 9, which burns kerosene and liquid oxygen, Zhuque-3 runs on liquid oxygen and liquid methane — a propellant mix also used in SpaceX's Starship rocket.

This was Zhuque-3's second flight. Its December 2, 2025 debut reached orbit successfully, but the landing attempt ended when the booster suffered what state media outlet Xinhua described as "abnormal combustion" and exploded near the pad. LandSpace said the latest mission "verified the design correctness and reliability of the Zhuque-3 reusable launch vehicle system."