A leading Chinese rocket developer is setting its sights on a major milestone in reusable spaceflight, aiming to successfully recover a booster stage within the next 18 months in a bid to rival U.S. aerospace giant SpaceX.
Why it matters
The ability to launch, return, and reuse the first stage of a rocket is considered the “holy grail” of modern space economics. Currently, SpaceX is the only entity that has mastered this technology at scale, allowing it to drastically reduce launch costs and dominate the global satellite market.
If Beijing-based LandSpace succeeds, it would mark a significant leap for China’s commercial space sector. Mastering recovery technology is crucial for turning space exploration into a commercially viable business model akin to civil aviation, making it cheaper and easier for nations to deploy satellite constellations.
What to know
Earlier this month, LandSpace became the first Chinese entity to conduct a full reusable rocket test with the maiden flight of its Zhuque-3 vehicle. The rocket blasted off from a remote site in northwest China, drawing immediate comparisons to SpaceX’s Falcon 9. While that initial test did not achieve the final step of landing and recovering the engine-packed booster, the company has now clarified its timeline for success.
According to an interview with Dong Kai, the deputy chief designer of the Zhuque-3, LandSpace plans to clear the recovery challenge during a second test flight scheduled for mid-2026. Speaking on the Chinese podcast Tech Early Know, Dong outlined an aggressive roadmap following that target.
“If the second flight’s recovery [stage] succeeds, we plan that on the fourth flight we will use a reused first stage to launch,” Dong said.
Currently, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 launches roughly 150 times a year—averaging three launches per week—with individual boosters reused dozens of times. In contrast, Dong noted that LandSpace has 10 launches planned for the coming year across all its models.
What people are saying
The rivalry between the two companies has caught the attention of Elon Musk. In October, the SpaceX founder acknowledged that the Zhuque-3 design could potentially beat the performance of the Falcon 9. However, Musk argued that it would take the Chinese challenger more than five years to match SpaceX’s launch cadence. By that time, Musk claimed, SpaceX would have transitioned to its massive, next-generation Starship system, which he said would be “doing over 100 times the annual payload to orbit of Falcon.”
Dong Kai offered a grounded response to these projections. While confirming that LandSpace is already building an engine for a future Starship-like model, he expressed skepticism about surpassing the Falcon 9’s work rate within five years. He pointed out that the total number of launches for all rocket models in China combined was only around 100 this year.
“It’s very difficult for a single company to reach that kind of frequency. It requires the support of an entire ecosystem,” Dong stated.
What happens next
LandSpace will proceed with preparations for its second Zhuque-3 test flight in 2026, focusing on the critical landing phase. Beyond the technical engineering, the company faces the challenge of funding a high-frequency testing regimen.
Other executives have noted that the financial burden of such a program is immense. To sustain a program similar to SpaceX’s, LandSpace will likely need to tap into China’s capital markets. The company has signaled plans for an initial public offering (IPO) next year to amass the necessary funds for its reusable rocket ambitions.
