China Lands Reusable Rocket’s First Stage on Land for the First Time
Technology
China has successfully landed the first stage of a reusable launch vehicle on land for the first time. The Zhuque-3-Y2, developed by commercial aerospace company LandSpace, lifted off on August 19 from the Dongfeng Commercial Space Innovation Pilot Zone in northwestern China.
Following stage separation, the first stage performed a controlled return and landed using deployable landing legs. The second stage continued its flight and placed the Honghu-03 satellite into its designated orbit.
According to Xinhua, the mission marked China’s first successful controlled ground landing of a launch vehicle’s first stage using deployable landing legs. Earlier, on July 10, China recovered the first stage of the Long March-10B on a sea platform.
The Zhuque-3 is powered by liquid oxygen and methane and is designed as a new-generation launch vehicle aimed at lower-cost and high-frequency launches. The rocket has a two-stage configuration and is 66.1 metres long.
Industry experts said the tested combination of a liquid oxygen-methane propulsion system, stainless-steel structure, vertical landing and reusability could help accelerate the deployment of China’s low-Earth-orbit satellite constellation.
According to Xinhua, the mission marked China’s first successful controlled ground landing of a launch vehicle’s first stage using deployable landing legs. Earlier, on July 10, China recovered the first stage of the Long March-10B on a sea platform.
The Zhuque-3 is powered by liquid oxygen and methane and is designed as a new-generation launch vehicle aimed at lower-cost and high-frequency launches. The rocket has a two-stage configuration and is 66.1 metres long.
Industry experts said the tested combination of a liquid oxygen-methane propulsion system, stainless-steel structure, vertical landing and reusability could help accelerate the deployment of China’s low-Earth-orbit satellite constellation.
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