China's first land-based rocket recovery achieved via landing legs
In short: Landing a rocket on land is a feat of precision and thermal endurance. While many space programs favor sea recoveries, LandSpace's Zhuque-3 recently broke new ground by successfully returning its first stage to a terrestrial pad, marking a pivotal shift in the mechanics of reusable orbital flight.
The Zhuque-3 (ZQ-3) is a two-stage, medium-to-heavy launch vehicle developed by the Beijing-based company LandSpace. Built from stainless steel and powered by liquid methane, it represents a shift toward high-performance, partially reusable architecture. The vehicle's evolution is marked by the transition from the initial ZQ-3 model to the ZQ-3E 'workhorse' version. The ZQ-3E is designed to be significantly larger, standing 76.2 meters tall with a liftoff weight of approximately 660 tonnes, and is engineered to reuse its first stage for up to twenty launches.
The path to successful recovery involved rigorous testing of vertical takeoff and vertical landing (VTVL) technologies. In September 2024, LandSpace achieved a first for Chinese rocket manufacturing by successfully performing a mid-air engine cutoff and reignition sequence. This test utilized a cold gas attitude control reaction system and four grid fins to manage a gliding descent. These components were critical for the subsequent orbital missions, where the booster had to navigate the extreme heat of 'supersonic reentry aerodynamic glide' before performing a precision landing.
The journey to orbital success was not immediate. The maiden flight on December 3, 2025, resulted in a crash during the recovery phase due to 'abnormal combustion.' However, the flight provided vital data on the structural thermal protection and guidance algorithms. By August 18, 2026, the company successfully landed the first stage in Minqin county, Gansu province, roughly 390 kilometers downrange. This achievement made Zhuque-3 the first Chinese launcher to complete a land-based stage recovery using landing legs during an orbital mission, a milestone for the future of low-cost resupply and broadband constellation deployment.
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- Summary by Intellect · source: Zhuque-3
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