New Chinese reusable rocket succeeded and failed on its first flight

The Chinese company LandSpace has developed a launch vehicle called Zhuque-3, which works in a very similar way to SpaceX’s Falcon 9 and is roughly the same size as the American rocket. Its first stage is reusable just like the Falcon 9’s first stage: after accelerating the second stage to high speed and lifting it to altitude, the stage returns and lands softly on land, slowed down by its own rocket engines.

The rocket’s maiden flight took place this morning Finnish time (3 December 2025 at 04:02 UTC). The Zhuque-3 successfully delivered its payload to orbit, but the first stage came crashing down in flames.

The situation is therefore very similar to what happened with Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket, whose first stage was destroyed on its debut flight, yet the satellite was successfully placed into orbit. SpaceX also failed seven times before its booster landings started working reliably.

If the Zhuque-3 can eventually be made to perform as well as SpaceX has made the Falcon 9 perform, it will represent a major leap forward for Chinese spaceflight.

China’s commercial space sector has grown explosively in recent years. More than 10 private companies are developing reusable rockets with the goal of reducing satellite launch costs to at least one-third of current levels.

SpaceX has been a huge source of inspiration for the Chinese. The state-owned rocket company CALT is also building a rocket called Long March 9 that is similar in size, appearance, and concept to Starship, and it is scheduled to enter service in the early 2030s.