China’s LandSpace Recovers Booster in Reusable Rocket Breakthrough

Chinese commercial space startup LandSpace Technology Corp. successfully recovered the first stage of its Zhuque-3 rocket after sending a satellite into orbit Wednesday, marking a major step toward reusable launch vehicles.

The Zhuque-3 lifted off at 7:35 a.m. from the Dongfeng commercial space innovation pilot zone in Northwest China. About 137 seconds into the flight, the stages separated. The second stage continued on to deliver the Honghu-03 satellite, developed by LandSpace subsidiary Beijing LandSpace Hong Qing Technology Co. Ltd., into its designated orbit.