LandSpace Lands Zhuque-3 BoosterOn its second flight, Zhuque-3 sent Hongqing Technology’s Honghu 03 satellite to orbit, then returned its first stage to landing legs on land. The first attempt ended in “anomalous combustion” near the pad.
It was China’s first recovery of an orbital rocket booster to landing legs, and the first landing by a private Chinese company. The 66-metre rocket runs on oxygen and methane, with a reusable booster and disposable upper stage.
China had recorded only 1 earlier landing, by CASC’s Long March 10B, which lowered its stage into a ship-deck net. Falcon 9 first landed in 2015.
@tech
