Between October 18 and 20, 2025, Landspace effectively completed the first stage of the maiden flight mission for its Zhuque-3 Y1 liquid oxygen–methane (LOX–methane) rocket on the No. 2 launch pad inside the Dongfeng Enterprise Spaceflight Innovation Check out Zone.
The check out half included propellant loading rehearsals and a static fire check out, marking a key milestone in Zhuque-3’s enchancment.
The Zhuque-3 is a large-scale, reusable LOX–methane rocket with first-stage reusability. Developed by Landspace, it’s designed for large-constellation deployment, high-frequency satellite tv for pc television for computer launches, and crewed spacecraft missions.
The rocket stands about 66 meters tall, weighs roughly 570 metric tons at liftoff, and will ship on the very least 18.3 tons to low-Earth orbit. Its first orbital launch is deliberate for later this 12 months, marking a critical step forward in China’s industrial reusable launch automotive capabilities.
In step with the company, Landspace will subsequent conduct vertical operations rehearsals sooner than returning the rocket to the technical area for inspections and preparations ahead of the official orbital launch and first-stage restoration check out.
The Zhuque-3 check out mission consists of two phases:
- Stage 1: Propellant loading and static fire check out, adopted by return to the technical area for inspection and maintenance.
- Stage 2: Orbital launch and an tried restoration of the first stage.
Zhuque-3 has now entered the important preparation half for its maiden flight.
On October 24, 2025, Elon Musk posted his suggestions on Zhuque-3 supplier rocket by means of social media platform X. He well-known that the design of this rocket is very like the Falcon 9, the precept supplier of his private SpaceX, nevertheless it absolutely incorporates designs from the new-generation Starship heavy-lift rocket, resembling liquid oxygen-methane gasoline and a stainless-steel rocket physique.
Subsequently, it might surpass the Falcon 9 in the end. Nonetheless, he moreover acknowledged that Starship is in a definite league (there isn’t a comparability between the two). Zhuque-3 will take about 5 further years to attain the current maturity stage of the Falcon 9, and by then, Starship could have been extensively deployed. Lastly, he emphasised that solely by regular innovation can one keep invincible.
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