China's Reusable Rocket Zhuque-3 Plans Another Recovery Attempt in Q2 This Year

Wedoany.com Report on Feb 25th, Recently, during the 63rd session of the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS), representatives from the Chinese commercial aerospace company LandSpace announced that China's reusable rocket, Zhuque-3, plans to conduct another recovery test in the second quarter of this year.

According to the introduction, the Zhuque-3 development team is currently optimizing the rocket's landing procedures. They plan to carry out another recovery test in the second quarter of 2026 and aim to attempt the first recovery and reuse flight in the fourth quarter of this year, based on the results of the recovery tests. In other words, if the first stage of Zhuque-3 is successfully recovered, it will be used on the next Zhuque-3 rocket, achieving reusability.

Zhuque-3 is a reusable liquid oxygen-methane launch vehicle independently developed by China. The rocket's first stage is equipped with a reaction control system, grid fins, and landing legs, enabling it to perform a vertical return, recovery, and reuse after completing its launch mission.

On December 3, 2025, Zhuque-3 made its maiden flight, marking China's first technological verification for recovering the first stage of an orbital-class launch vehicle. During the return flight, the rocket achieved high-precision guidance control towards the landing pad recovery point in both the re-ignition phase and the aerodynamic glide phase. Unfortunately, an anomalous combustion occurred several kilometers above the ground, preventing a soft landing.