Chinese space startup LandSpace has landed the first stage of its Zhuque-3 rocket on land, a first for any Chinese company. The mission also delivered a satellite to orbit. Until now, only SpaceX and Blue Origin had recovered a rocket first stage after an orbital-class flight.

The rocket lifted off at 7:35 AM local time, separated its stages 137 seconds into the flight, and touched down at 7:41 AM on four deployable legs. The launchpad and landing site sit roughly 250km apart. LandSpace said the booster performed attitude adjustment, reentry deceleration burns, aerodynamic gliding and a final landing burn, verifying the complete return sequence.

The success follows the failed maiden flight of Zhuque-3 in December, when the mission was lost even though its on-board Ethernet network reportedly performed well. Zhuque-3 is the company's new flagship, capable of lifting 21,300kg to a 450km orbit using in-house TQ-12A engines burning liquid oxygen and methane. LandSpace's earlier Zhuque-2 became the first methane rocket to reach orbit in 2022 and has flown eight times with six successes.

LandSpace designs its first stages and engines to fly up to 20 times, but it has yet to refly a booster even once. Re-usable rockets matter to Beijing's space ambitions: broadband satellite constellations and an expanded space station. The country also plans a moon base. State media called the landing a major breakthrough, and China has separately tested catching boosters in a net mounted on a barge at sea.