Special to CosmicTribune.com, August 27, 2026

Geostrategy-Direct

By Richard Fisher

On Aug. 18 China’s LandSpace Corporation achieved the first first-stage vertical recovery for a reusable space launch vehicle (SLV) produced by a “privately” funded Chinese space company.

The LandSpace Zhuque-3 two-stage SLV also achieved China’s first on-land first-stage vertical recovery about 390 kilometers down range, for which it still gets credit even though some of the remaining rocket fuel caught fire, weakening one of its landing legs and causing the stage to fall to a horizontal position.

Nevertheless, it is remarkable that the LandSpace Zhuque-3 achieved this vertical recovery on only its second mission; The comparable SpaceX Falcon-9 SLV required 20 missions before its first successful vertical recovery on land — considering it was also the first ever rocket to do so on Dec. 21, 2015.

Chinese sources indicate that the next Zhuque-3 test launch could take place as early as December 2026.

While the Falcon-9 uses aluminum construction and kerosene-oxygen fuel, the Zhuque-3 uses less expensive stainless steel and lighter-weight methane-oxygen fuel, giving it a recoverable mode payload of about 8 tons.

This compares to the 17.9-ton payload of the Falcon-9 when recovered downrange on a drone ship, which allows less fuel to be devoted to the recovery maneuver process.

LandSpace is also developing the larger Zhuque-3E with an 18.3-ton payload also for a downrange first-stage recovery.

In addition, Chinese sources indicate that LandSapce may be developing a much larger Zhuque-4 reusable first stage super heavy SLV, that may have a 100 ton to Low Earth Orbit payload capability, putting it the same class as the SpaceX Starship.

These sources indicate the Zhuque-4 could be ready for testing by as early as 2030, which is when the state-owned and politically dominant China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) intends to start testing its Starship-class Long March-9 reusable first stage super heavy SLV.

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  China’s first ‘private’ rocket company marks successful first stage recovery