China's Zhuque-3 Rocket Successfully Lands on Land
The Zhuque-3 rocket successfully landed on solid ground, marking China's first such achievement and the second overall, following an earlier return to a sea platform.
The Zhuque-3 rocket successfully landed on solid ground, marking China's first such achievement and the second overall, following an earlier return to a sea platform.
On Wednesday, August 19, 2026, China achieved a historic milestone, the first stage of the Zhuque-3 rocket successfully landed on land, state news agency Xinhua reported. The rocket was launched in the morning from the Dongfeng Commercial Space Innovation Pilot Zone, located in the northwest of the country, and its first stage was recovered and preserved after flight.
This is only the second time China has managed to recover a rocket stage after launch. The first time was on July 10, 2026, when the first stage of the Long March-10B rocket separated from the second stage and landed on a platform at sea, using a net-catching system.
The first stage is the lower, largest part of the rocket, which carries engines and fuel for the initial phase of flight. After it consumes its fuel, it separates from the rest of the rocket and is usually discarded. For reusable rockets, the goal is to bring that part back to Earth in a controlled manner for reuse.
Unlike the previous sea landing, this time a new technology was used. According to Xinhua's report, this is the first time China has applied folding legs for landing a rocket on land. These legs deploy just before touchdown, allowing the rocket to land upright.
Xinhua called this result a "major breakthrough in the country's reusable rocket technology." Since the equipment can be used multiple times instead of being discarded after delivering satellites and other payloads into orbit, such systems significantly reduce launch costs.
With this success, China aims to catch up with Elon Musk's SpaceX and Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin, which have been recovering rockets since 2015. The goal is to lower launch prices and strengthen its position in the global space market.
Interestingly, the day after China's success at sea, on July 11, 2026, Japan also conducted its first test flight of an experimental reusable rocket, which took off and landed safely. Japan is thus also trying to keep pace with technology that reduces launch costs.
The photo of the Zhuque-3 Y2 rocket launch was released by Xinhua, taken by photographer Wang Jiangbo.
