Story perspectives

LandSpace recovers Zhuque-3 booster, targets 20 reuses

8/19/2026

Summary

LandSpace Rocket Landing

On August 19, 2026, LandSpace recovered the first stage of its Zhuque-3 rocket in Gansu province.
The nine-engine booster touched down in Minqin County, 390 km southeast of the launch site.
LandSpace says the booster can be reused up to 20 times and seeks a 7.5 billion-yuan IPO on Shanghai’s STAR Market.
The feat makes LandSpace the third private firm to land an orbital-class booster, narrowing China’s gap with U.S. reusable-rocket operators.

Summary

Zhuque-3 Launches

LandSpace reduced landing-burn engines, added a predicted landing point to its autonomous safety system, and upgraded thermal protection after the December 2025 failure.
On August 18, Zhuque-3 launched as China’s 60th orbital attempt of 2026, carrying Honghu-03 built by Hongqing Technology, which raised over $191 million last month.
Its stage uses nine Tianque methane-liquid-oxygen engines, is designed for 20 flights, and will deploy the Haolong cargo shuttle plus the Guowang and Thousand Sails megaconstellations.

History

Historical Context

On 21 December 2015 SpaceX landed the Falcon 9 first stage at Cape Canaveral, the first orbital booster to return and touch down vertically, sacrificing about 30 % of payload capacity for landing propellant. The success showed reusability could cut launch costs, spurring companies such as China’s LandSpace to design the methane-LOX Zhuque-3, which aims for up to 20 flights and to serve commercial megaconstellations.

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LandSpace Rocket Landing

On August 19, 2026, LandSpace recovered the first stage of its Zhuque-3 rocket in Gansu province.
The nine-engine booster touched down in Minqin County, 390 km southeast of the launch site.
LandSpace says the booster can be reused up to 20 times and seeks a 7.5 billion-yuan IPO on Shanghai’s STAR Market.
The feat makes LandSpace the third private firm to land an orbital-class booster, narrowing China’s gap with U.S. reusable-rocket operators.

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