China has achieved a major milestone in reusable rocket technology with the successful launch and land recovery of the Zhuque-3 Y2 reusable rocket. The rocket lifted off at 7:35 a.m. Beijing time from the Dongfeng commercial space innovation pilot zone in northwest China.
The rocket’s first stage successfully completed a controlled landing at its designated recovery site using deployable landing legs. Meanwhile, the second stage placed the Honghu-03 satellite into its planned orbit, making the overall mission a success.
The achievement marks China’s first successful land-based controlled recovery of a rocket’s first stage using landing legs. It follows the successful sea-based net recovery of the Long March-10B’s first stage on July 10 and represents another significant step in China’s development of reusable launch technology.
