Archive · 19 Aug 2026
China Achieves First Successful Land Recovery of Reusable Rocket
China tested a rocket called Zhuque-3.
After launching, the rocket’s first stage came back down and landed on land.
This was the first time China successfully recovered a rocket stage on land.
China had already recovered one at sea in July.
The rocket used special legs to land.
Reusing rocket parts can help make space launches less expensive.
SpaceX and Blue Origin in the United States have been recovering rockets since 2015.
Japan is also testing rockets that can be used again.
LandSpace’s Zhuque-3 rocket launched Wednesday and recovered its first stage on land.
The achievement is China’s first successful land recovery of a rocket stage.
China previously recovered a rocket stage at sea in July using a net-capture system.
The Zhuque-3 recovery used deployable landing legs for the first time in China’s program.
SpaceX and Blue Origin have recovered rockets since 2015, while Japan is also testing reusable-rocket technology.
- Who
- LandSpace, a Chinese private aerospace company, developed the Zhuque-3 rocket.
- What
- China successfully recovered the first stage of a rocket on land.
- When
- Wednesday, according to the state news report; China’s earlier sea recovery occurred on July 10.
- Where
- The Zhuque-3 first stage was recovered on land in China; the earlier Long March-10B stage was recovered at sea.
- Why
- The effort is intended to advance reusable-rocket technology and help reduce launch costs.
- Rocket
- Zhuque-3
- Developer
- LandSpace
- Achievement
- China’s first successful land recovery of a rocket stage
- Earlier recovery
- A Long March-10B first stage was recovered at sea on July 10
- Landing method
- Deployable landing legs
- International context
- SpaceX and Blue Origin have recovered rockets since 2015
- Other country testing
- Japan conducted a reusable-rocket test flight the following day after the July recovery