HELSINKI \u2014 Chinese commercial launch firm Landspace is preparing to attempt the country\u2019s first orbital launch and booster landing this weekend with its Zhuque-3 rocket.<\/p>\n
Airspace closure notices issued under the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) indicate a launch attempt from the vicinity of Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center between around 11:00 p.m. Eastern Nov. 28 and 1:00 a.m. Nov. 29 (0400-0600 UTC, or 12:00-2:00 p.m. Beijing time Nov. 29). A drop zone for the launch matches coordinates for a downrange landing site roughly 390 kilometers to the southeast of Jiuquan, in Minqin county, Gansu province.<\/p>\n
The launch of Zhuque-3 will mark China\u2019s first attempt to recover a first stage following an orbital launch, even as state-owned CASC prepares for its own attempt from Jiuquan with its Long March 12A reusable rocket<\/a>.<\/p>\n Landspace\u2019s Zhuque-3 is a two-stage, stainless steel rocket with a diameter of 4.5 meters and a mass at liftoff of about 570 metric tons. The rocket stands approximately 66 meters tall on the pad, with its first stage powered by nine Tianque-12A methane-liquid oxygen engines.<\/p>\n The launch will take place at Landspace facilities within the Dongfeng Commercial Space Innovation Test Zone near Jiuquan spaceport. Landspace had conducted a full-scale propellant loading rehearsal of the Zhuque-3 and static fire test at launch pad 2 for methane-liquid oxygen rockets Oct. 18-20.<\/p>\n Zhuque-3 is expected to carry a prototype of the reusable Haolong cargo spacecraft<\/a> as part of a program for low-cost cargo delivery to the Tiangong space station.<\/p>\n The attempt comes a decade after SpaceX demonstrated a world first successful first stage rocket landing from an orbital launch using its Falcon 9 rocket. It also follows weeks after Blue Origin\u00a0 landed a New Glenn booster<\/a> on the rocket\u2019s second flight.<\/p>\n Zhuque-3 has payload capacity to low Earth orbit (LEO) of 21,000 kilograms when expendable, or up to 18,300 kg when the first stage is recovered downrange, making it comparable to the Falcon 9 in terms of payload capacity, and close behind China\u2019s current most capable launcher\u2014the expendable Long March 5\u2014in. Landspace conducted a successful, 10-kilometer-altitude launch and landing test<\/a> with a first stage in September last year.<\/p>\n Landspace posted a view from the Zhuque-3 on the pad at Jiuquan on its account on social media platform X Nov. 25, showing the distant Long March 2F rocket which launched the uncrewed Shenzhou-22<\/a> spacecraft to the Tiangong space station.\u00a0<\/p>\n ZhuQue and Shenjian (\u795e\u7bad)<\/p>\n At 12:11 on November 25, the Long March-2F Y22 launch vehicle, carrying the Shenzhou-22 spaceship, ignited and lifted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. \u2014 LandSpace (@LandSpace_Tech) November 25, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n The launch of Zhuque-3 had apparently been put on hold by the imminent launch of the crewed Shenzhou-21 mission from Jiuquan in late October and the subsequent return of the Shenzhou-20 crew in early November.\u00a0<\/p>\n The latter operation was delayed, however, by the discovery of damage to the Shenzhou-20 spacecraft by a suspected debris impact. This necessitated the use of the Shenzhou-21 spacecraft by the returning Shenzhou-20 crew, and the need for an emergency launch of Shenzhou-22<\/a>, which also appears to have postponed the launch of Zhuque-3.<\/p>\n Zhuque-3\u2014along with a number of rockets of other commercial and state actors<\/a> also close to debut flights\u2014is designed to be able to carry multiple satellites into orbit for China\u2019s megaconstellations, including Guowang<\/a>, Thousand Sails (Qianfan<\/a>) and Honghu-3<\/a>. The new rockets could provide new launch capacity in terms of payload and, eventually, a reliable high cadence of launches.\u00a0<\/p>\n Landspace emerged soon after China opened its space sector to private capital in late 2014. The company made its first orbital launch attempt back in October 2018 with the solid propellant Zhuque-1, named after the Vermillion Bird from Chinese mythology. That launch failed<\/a>, but the company had already moved on to plans to develop a methane-powered rocket, the Zhuque-2. That rocket became the first methane-fueled rocket<\/a> to reach orbit in July 2023, bouncing back from a failed first attempt<\/a> in December 2022. An upgraded version, the Zhuque-2E, has been flying successfully, but suffered a failure<\/a> on its most recent outing Aug. 15.<\/p>\n The company received $123 million<\/a> from China\u2019s National Manufacturing Transformation and Upgrading Fund for its rocket plans in December 2024. Landspace filed preliminary documents<\/a> with Chinese regulators in late July, potentially eyeing an initial public offering (IPO) in early 2026.<\/p>\n China\u2019s early launch companies started off developing small, solid propellant rockets, mainly targeting contracts to launch cubesats for institutions. China\u2019s commercial launch sector has since transformed, in large part due to China\u2019s government approving and backing megaconstellation projects which call for large, reusable rockets in order to make their construction feasible, while also underlining commercial space as a national priority.<\/p>\n \n\tRelated\n<\/p>\n \t
Approximately ten minutes later, the spaceship successfully separated from the vehicle\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/lxXOfVlwoi<\/a><\/p>\n