China recovers rocket stage on land for first time, after earlier recovery at sea
The landing marks China’s first successful ground recovery of an orbital-class booster and a key step toward lower-cost reusable launches, Xinhua said.
- On Wednesday, China successfully launched the Zhuque-3 Y-2 rocket from the Dongfeng Commercial Space Innovation Pilot Zone, recovering the first stage on land in Minqin County, Gansu Province, marking a milestone for the nation's space program.
- Rocket developer LandSpace utilized deployable landing legs for the mission, representing China's first successful land recovery of a reusable launch vehicle following a July sea platform recovery.
- Engineering teams optimized the landing propulsion system by reducing engine usage and enhanced the onboard autonomous flight safety system to improve return-control strategies during the vehicle's high-speed atmospheric re-entry.
- While SpaceX and Blue Origin have recovered rockets since 2015, China's achievement positions the nation to reduce launch costs; Xinhua News Agency deemed the result "a major breakthrough in the country's reusable rocket technology."
- LandSpace confirmed the operation established a solid foundation for subsequent inspection, maintenance, and commercial applications of reusable launch vehicles, advancing the nation's long-term space ambitions.
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128 Articles
China successfully recovers rocket stage on land for first time
Elon Musk's SpaceX and Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin have been recovering rockets since 2015, helping drive down launch costs by reusing hardware that would otherwise be discarded after carrying satellites and other payloads toward space
Chinese Startup LandSpace Achieves First Private Vertical Rocket Landing
The Chinese startup Landspace has successfully launched the Zhuque-3 carrier rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. This mission marks the first time a private sector entity in China has executed a vertical soft landing of a rocket's first stage, which returned to Earth eight minutes after liftoff. The rocket deployed the Honghu 03 demonstration communications satellite into low Earth orbit. The first stage landed on a designated pad a…
China turned the first step of the missile to the Land of Baggatoraz, the Zhujie-3 rocket of LandSpace, and turned the first step of the launch.
China lands a rocket booster on land for the first time
The Chinese startup LandSpace recovered the first stage of its Zhuque-3 rocket on Wednesday. It is one of only a handful of private companies to land an orbital-class booster. Reuters reported that the feat places LandSpace alongside SpaceX and Blue Origin, and narrows China’s gap with the US in reusable rockets. The booster came back […] This story continues at The Next Web
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