China’s LandSpace beats SpaceX with steel-booster recovery after orbital launch

SCMP | Aug. 18, 2026, 8:28 p.m. | Original

In a global first, China’s leading commercial rocket company LandSpace has recovered a stainless-steel booster after an orbital launch, marking a major step in the country’s efforts to develop lower-cost, reusable rockets. Photo: CCTV

Ling Xin in Ohio and Victoria Bela in Hong Kong

In a global first, China’s leading commercial rocket company LandSpace has recovered a stainless-steel booster after an orbital launch, marking a major step in the country’s efforts to develop lower-cost, reusable rockets.

The successful mission makes Zhuque-3 China’s first commercial rocket to both reach orbit and have its first stage recovered.

SpaceX’s Super Heavy booster, which is also made of stainless steel, is awaiting US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approval for its first recovery flight to send the Starship into orbit.

Reusable Chinese rocket returns after launch

The 66-metre (217-foot) rocket, powered by liquid methane and oxygen, lifted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in the Gobi Desert at 7.35am on Wednesday, according to state news agency Xinhua.

The rocket delivered a Honghu-3 internet satellite into its designated orbit, while its first stage returned to Earth and touched down vertically at a recovery site in Minqin county, Gansu province, about 390km (242 miles) southeast of the launch pad.

It was LandSpace’s second attempt to launch Zhuque-3 into orbit and recover its first stage. During its maiden flight in December, the second stage successfully reached orbit, but the first stage erupted in a dramatic fireball during its final powered descent towards the landing pad.

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