A Chinese commercial rocket landed vertically under its own power on landing legs for the first time after an orbital launch, marking a milestone that makes China the second country after the United States to develop orbital-class rocket recovery capabilities.
The Zhuque-3 Y2, developed by Beijing-based LandSpace, lifted off from the Dongfeng Commercial Aerospace Innovation and Testing Zone in the Gobi Desert. Its first stage set down in a designated recovery area while the second stage placed the Honghu 03 satellite into its planned orbit. A previous recovery attempt in December failed when the booster exploded moments before touchdown. LandSpace says reusable first stages, which account for roughly 70 percent of launch costs, are critical to reducing expenses.
The landing follows China's July recovery of a Long March-10B first stage on a maritime platform. Chinese constellations Guowang and Qianfan plan to deploy more than 10,000 satellites for global broadband.