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China has successfully tested its first reusable rocket, inspired by groundbreaking technology from Elon Musk's SpaceX. Here's how the feat could transform the space race
A LandSpace, one of China's leading rocket developers, has just achieved a milestone in space exploration with its Zhuque-3 reusable rocket. In a successful test, the rocket, independently developed by the company, performed a vertical takeoff and landing test flight, reaching an altitude of 10 km. This feat marks an important step forward for the Chinese space industry, which has been trying to develop low-cost and high-frequency solutions for space launches, as well as following the evolution of Elon Musk's SpaceX.
The test, lasting 200 seconds, was the first to test the reignition of engine on a Chinese rocket, an essential step toward decelerating and recovering reusable rockets.
This phase is considered crucial to the success of the mission and places the China on a promising path towards more efficient space launches.
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According to the state broadcaster CCTV, this advancement represents a major step for the country's commercial space sector.
Dai Zheng, Project Commander Zhuque-3, stated that the test validated important technologies, such as engine shutdown and restart in full flight, in addition to guidance and control systems, culminating in a high-precision landing.
According to Zheng, these results pave the way for a future of more accessible and frequent releases. “We have laid a solid foundation for rocket flight and recovery“, commented the commander.
Elon Musk's SpaceX still dominates the industry
Despite the success, one of the engineers on the Zhuque-3 team, who chose to remain anonymous, told the South China Morning Post that while the test exceeded expectations, Chinese technology still lags significantly behind that of Texas-based industry giant SpaceX.
"China could have its own Falcon 9 rocket in five years and a Starship-like spacecraft in about 20 years. We have to work hard to reach that level.”, said the engineer, reflecting on the future of the Chinese space sector.
The Zhuque-3 rocket used in the test is 18,3 meters (60 feet) tall and is powered by a single Tianque-12B engine, also independently developed by LandSpace.
However, the final version of the Zhuque-3, which is scheduled to enter Operação in the coming years, it will reach an impressive height of 76,6 meters (251 feet) and will be equipped with nine Tianque-12B engines, making it one of the most powerful rockets ever built in China.
Test Flight Details
The test flight began at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northern China. About 113 seconds after liftoff, the engine was shut down, and the test rocket reached its maximum altitude of 10.002 meters (32.800 feet).
Soon after, the engine was fired again for the deceleration and landing phase, when the rocket descended to 4.640 meters (15.200 feet) above the ground.
One of the most notable achievements of this test was the precision of the landing. The test rocket landed less than 2 meters from the center of the landing pad, which was located 3,2 km from the launch site. This level of precision is critical to the development of reusable rocket technologies.
Promising future for Zhuque-3 – reusable rocket
The Zhuque-3 is a two-stage rocket designed to be China's first stainless steel liquid-propellant rocket. It will use methane and liquid oxygen as fuels, providing a total thrust of 900 tons at liftoff.
This rocket has the capacity to carry up to 21,3 tons to low Earth orbit on single-use missions, and 18,3 tons on recovery missions.
LandSpace's developers aim to reuse the rocket's first stage at least 20 times, which will be a significant step forward for China's space launch market.
The expectation is that the maiden flight of Zhuque-3 will take place in 2025, positioning the company as a strong competitor in the satellite constellation launch market, especially in relation to broadband internet services.
In addition, Zhuque-3, along with other reusable rockets under development in China, will contribute to high-frequency launches of broadband internet constellations such as Guo Wang and Thousand Sails, each with more than 13.000 satellites.
This development promises to consolidate China's position on the global space exploration stage, while boosting competitiveness in the private sector.
In short, LandSpace is on a promising path with Zhuque-3, and the continued success of its tests could transform China's commercial space industry, opening up new opportunities for exploration and innovation.
