China’s commercial reusable test rocket completes vertical takeoff, landing flight test

This undated photo shows the Zhuque-3 reusable test rocket developed by a Chinese private rocket company LandSpace.(Xinhua)
JIUQUAN, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) — China’s independently developed Zhuque-3 reusable test rocket has successfully completed a 10-kilometer vertical takeoff and landing flight test at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China on Wednesday.
It is a significant breakthrough in the country’s commercial space sector, marking a crucial step towards realizing high-capacity, low-cost, high-frequency and reusable space launches in the future, according to the rocket’s developer LandSpace, a Chinese private rocket company.
The test procedure included ascent, engine shutdown, power-off glide, in-flight engine restart and soft landing, with all performance indicators meeting the expected design specifications.
The test rocket is a single-stage liquid oxygen-methane vehicle, with a diameter of 3.35 meters and a length of 18.3 meters. It utilizes the same high-strength stainless steel airframe structure as the Zhuque-3 rocket.
In addition to the first flight test in January, these two vertical takeoff and landing flight tests successfully verified several key technologies for reusable rockets, laying the foundation for the future maiden flight and recovery of the Zhuque-3 rocket, according to LandSpace. ■