nearby november 25thThe Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology’s Long March 12A is a partially reusable launch vehicle Seen heading to Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, its launch pad, for the first public appearance of the completed vehicle. The rocket, burning liquid methane and liquid oxygen, has two stages 3.8 meters wide, the first of which is equipped with seven Longyun Engine From Jiuzhou Yunjian(九州云箭) and the second one with single vacuum customized YF-209To carry up to 12,000 kg. Reuse of the first stage would be achieved by an engine-powered landing burn on four legs, before grid wings would guide it.
Details on the development of the Long March 12A are difficult to obtain as few have been released. In January, a High-altitude hop test largely successful The splashdown was caused by software glitches. Around August, a second stage static fire Completed in Haiyang (海阳市). finally in november rocket transporter-erector Was given. What is trackable is Jiuzhou Yunjian Verification efforts of its engines For reusable operations.
Due to the opaque nature of the Long March 12A development, it is unknown whether the launch vehicle at Jiuquan will make it past the first flight later in December, possibly with static fire, concluding the overall development campaign.
Meanwhile, Landspace’s 66-meter-long, 4.5-meter-wide ZUK-3 Is on its Jiuquan launch pad even after delivery in OctoberLike the Long March 12A, the rocket burns liquid methane and liquid oxygen, but it has two more engines, Landspace’s TQ-12A on the first stage and a vacuum-optimized TQ-15A engine on the second stage, delivering mass up to 11,800 kg,block one‘ layout. Similar to the Shanghai Academy rocket, the Zhuke-3’s first stage will touch down on four landing legs after an engine burn, with four grid fins guiding it through the atmosphere.
The ZUK-3 has had a very successful test campaign during its test run longer than two years of development Process. In September 2024, the launch vehicle’s atmospheric hop-test campaign was completed. 10 kilometer flight Which saw an engine relight for touchdown. After this a 45 seconds of static fire in JuneThis was later matched by flight hardware performing a similar steady fire with the second stage on top. Hardware has also been flown with the company’s Zhuque-2 and ZUK-2E Also launch vehicle.
Space Pioneer’s Tianlong-3, along with two methane-fueled rockets, is also at Jiuquan. arrived sometime in novemberThe two-stage 72-metre long, 3,8-metre wide launch vehicle burns up to 17,000 kg of rocket-grade kerosene and liquid oxygen to low Earth orbit, with nine TH-12 engines in the first stage and a single vacuum-optimized engine in the second stage, The Tianlong-3 first stage is planned to land on four landing legs, guided by four gridded wings, with an engine burn providing the necessary soft touchdown,
In the lead up to the launch, Tianlong-3 made its first launch Completely successful static fire in September and abandoned firing of the second stage after its development campaign, relying on a single engine powering it. At present, the launch vehicle is on its dedicated launchpad at the launch site for integrated testing with ground systems. Notably, no reuse hardware has been installed yet, and mounting points appear to be missing.
Of the Long March 12A, Zhuke-3 and Tianlong-3, Landspace may fly China’s first reusable rocket. Despite the current lack of threat information, news outlet It is being said that November 29th is the first target date. Landspace has categorically denied that dateAsking enthusiasts to research diligently. As for the other two rockets, Space Pioneer and Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology have not yet shared relevant information,
First stage booster landing sites for both have been completed zuke-3 and this Long March 12A In the last months. Those sites are expected to have systems to protect the booster after touchdown as well as fire suppression systems in the event of an anomaly. landspace and Shanghai Academy The aim is to land the first stage during the first flight. Whoever lands first will be the third globally after SpaceX and the first outside the United States Falcon 9 in 2015 and Blue Origin’s New Glen On 13 November 2025,
No major Jiuquan-side holdup is expected to slow the first flight of the three rockets. During the past month, the site was used preferentially for the China Manned Space Agency Launch of Shenzhou-21 missionreturn of Shenzhou-20 teamAnd ‘Emergency Response’ launch of Shenzhou-22 Spacecraft.
When the three rockets launch, they will be a boon to deployment efforts Various mega-constellations of ChinaBecause reuse would allow cheaper and more frequently launched missions. In August, Shanghai SpaceCell Technologies, operator of the Qianfan (千帆) constellation, contracts were awarded to Landspace and space pioneer to prove they can launch satellite batches with their partially reusable rocket with Tianlong-3 want to deliver Large satellite constellation.
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