This Chinese company could become the country’s first to land a reusable rocket

That ain’t no Falcon 9

Chinese companies that master reusable rocketry first will have an advantage in the Chinese launch industry. It appears that a handful of rockets are poised to take advantage of this advantage, starting with Landspace’s Zhuke-3.

In its first iteration, the Zhuke-3 rocket will be capable of placing up to 17,600 pounds (8 metric tons) of payload into low-Earth orbit after accounting for the fuel reserves required for booster recovery. The entire rocket is approximately 216 feet (65.9 m) tall.

The first stage has nine TQ-12A engines that consume methane and liquid oxygen, producing more than 1.6 million pounds of thrust at full thrust. The second stage is powered by a single methane-fueled TQ-15A engine with approximately 200,000 pounds of thrust. These are the same engines that Landspace has successfully flown on the smaller Zhuke-2 rocket.

Landspace plans to eventually launch an upgraded Zhuke-3, carrying more propellant and using more powerful engines, increasing its payload capacity to more than 40,000 pounds (18.3 metric tons) in reusable mode, or a few tons more with an expendable booster.

From the outside, Landspace’s new rocket looks a lot like the vehicle it’s trying to emulate: SpaceX’s Falcon 9. Like the Falcon 9, the Zhuk-3 booster’s nine-engine design also has four deployable landing legs and grid wings to help steer the rocket toward landing.

But Landspace also includes elements of SpaceX’s much heavier Starship rocket. The Zhuke-3’s primary structure is made of stainless steel, and its engines burn methane fuel, not kerosene like the Falcon 9.

In preparation for the launch of Zhuke-3, Landspace engineers built a prototype rocket for launch and landing demonstrations. In September 2024 the test bed flew 10 kilometers or about 33,000 feet and descended to a precise vertical landing, validating the rocket’s guidance algorithms and engine restart capability.

first of many

Preparation for another reusable booster is underway a short distance from Landscaping’s launch site in Jiuquan. The rocket, called Long March 12A, comes from one of China’s established state-owned rocket firms. It could fly before the end of this year, but officials have not publicized any schedule.