China's LandSpace targets new Zhuque-3 recovery test in Q2 of 2026

Chinese commercial aerospace firm LandSpace plans to carry out another recovery test of its reusable Zhuque-3 rocket in the second quarter of this year, the company said during the 63rd session of the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space.

The company aims to conduct its first recovery-and-reflight mission in the fourth quarter, depending on the results of the upcoming test. If the first stage is successfully retrieved, it will be refurbished and used on a subsequent Zhuque-3 launch.

Zhuque-3 features a first stage capable of vertical landing and reuse after liftoff. The approach is intended to significantly reduce launch costs and support the large-scale deployment of satellite constellations.

The rocket completed its maiden flight on December 3, 2025, marking China's first effort to bring back the first stage of an orbital rocket. During the rocket's final engine ignition a few kilometers above the ground, an abnormal combustion occurred, and the booster failed to make a soft landing.

However, the rocket was able to guide itself accurately toward the landing site during its return, despite failing to land softly, Zhang Xiaodong, Zhuque-3's chief designer, told China Media Group.

First stages account for about 60 percent of a rocket's total cost and have traditionally been treated as expendable hardware, making launches expensive. Reusing them could sharply lower overall costs. 

Launch costs have fallen by more than 70 percent in recent years after SpaceX started recovering and reusing boosters, with its Falcon 9 cutting prices to around $3,000 per kilogram.

Zhuque-3's first stage is designed for up to 20 reuses, with a long-term target of reducing launch costs to about 20,000 yuan ($2,800) per kilogram.

Successful recovery will only be the first step, said Yang Yuguang, chairman of the IAF Space Transportation Committee, adding that reliable reuse and cost reductions across the entire chain are needed to bring what he called "revolutionary" change to the space industry.