fueling rehearsal and static ignition test<\/a>, marking an entry into the critical preparation phase for its maiden flight.\u00a0<\/p>\nNo reusable rocket in China has ever completed a launch mission, which means that Zhuque-3 is expected to become the country’s first operational reusable launch vehicle, stcn.com reported.<\/p>\n
According to LandSpace, the Zhuque-3 maiden flight test mission will be divided into two phases.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The first phase involves fueling rehearsals and static ignition tests, followed by a return to the technical area for inspection and maintenance. The second phase focuses on achieving orbital launch as the primary mission objective, while simultaneously attempting first-stage recovery.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Zhuque-3 is a large-capacity, low-cost, reusable liquid launch vehicle independently developed by China to deploy large-scale constellations, CCTV reported.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Stainless steel is the primary structural material for the rocket body. The rocket’s first and second stages have a diameter of 4.5 meters, with a payload fairing diameter of 5.2 meters. The total length of the rocket is 66.1 meters, with a takeoff mass of about 570 tons and a takeoff thrust exceeding 750 tons.\u00a0<\/p>\n
After performing orbital launch missions, the rocket can autonomously return with high precision, achieve a soft landing at the recovery site and be reused.<\/p>\n
“If China achieves a breakthrough in this field [of rocket recovery], it will signify immense strategic value and global competitiveness in reducing the cost of space access, accelerating low-orbit constellation deployment, increasing launch frequency and enhancing industrial capabilities. This is not merely a technological leap for a single rocket model but a critical step toward entering the era of ‘large-scale space transportation’,” a LandSpace spokesperson told the Global Times previously.<\/p>\n
On September 15, a first-stage propulsion system test for the Tianlong-3 large liquid-propellant carrier rocket was successfully held at the Haiyang Oriental Aerospace Port in East China’s Shandong Province, the Xinhua News Agency reported.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
The rocket is 72 meters in length with a takeoff mass of 600 tons. It is able to launch 36 satellites in a single mission and supports large-scale cargo transport for China’s space station, as well as medium- and high-orbit satellite launches, according to Xinhua.<\/p>\n
This is also a large-scale liquid reusable rocket expected to achieve a low-Earth orbit payload capacity of more than 20 tons, with its maiden flight scheduled within the year, CCTV reported.<\/p>\n
Industry insiders predict that within this year, several new reusable rocket designs, including the Lijian-2 and Long March 12A, are expected to achieve their maiden flights, according to CCTV.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“Once Chinese commercial space companies master the reusable technology, the country’s commercial aerospace industry will further be enhanced, as scale effects are the core feature of a mature industry,” Wang Yanan, chief editor of Aerospace Knowledge magazine, told the Global Times on Monday.<\/p>\n
“The progress will drive the rapid expansion of China’s launch capabilities, with multiple enterprises collaborating to undertake a larger share of global launch missions, further consolidating the country’s leading position in the international commercial aerospace market,” Wang said.<\/p>\n
In addition, it will effectively stimulate the potential of the domestic commercial aerospace market, and promote innovation and practical implementation in related fields such as satellite communications, therefore fostering a virtuous cycle ecosystem, the expert noted. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LandSpace’s Zhuque-3 rocket Photo: Courtesy of LandSpace China’s reusable rocket Zhuque-3 will make its maiden flight this year,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":256471,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[90,416,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-256470","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-space","8":"tag-science","9":"tag-space","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom","12":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/256470","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=256470"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/256470\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/256471"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=256470"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=256470"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=256470"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"LandSpace's](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/03c4cd84-3735-4988-9a75-937ac8dc4d30.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n