Chinese launch company LandSpace successfully recovered the first stage of its Zhuque-3 Y-2 rocket on land on August 19, 2026. The vehicle's first stage returned to a landing pad using deployable landing legs after completing its ascent phase.
The recovery represents the first time an orbital-class first stage has been recovered on land in China using landing-leg technology. LandSpace conducted the test less than a year after the Zhuque-3 Y-1 maiden flight in December 2025.
The Y-2 mission served as a verification flight for the reusable first-stage architecture. LandSpace is developing the Zhuque-3 as a liquid oxygen-methane launch vehicle with a reusable first stage designed for multiple flights.
The successful recovery advances LandSpace's progress toward operational reusability. The company is simultaneously pursuing a listing on the STAR Market, China's Nasdaq-style board for technology enterprises.
Several Chinese launch companies are currently testing reusable rocket technologies. LandSpace's land recovery follows separate sea-landing and vertical-takeoff-vertical-landing tests by other domestic firms.
The Zhuque-3 uses liquid oxygen and methane propellants, which are considered favorable for reusability due to cleaner combustion and easier engine refurbishment compared to kerosene-based systems.
LandSpace has not disclosed the number of flights planned for each first stage or the turnaround timeline between missions. The company also has not released detailed telemetry from the Y-2 recovery.
The test positions LandSpace among the global cohort of operators demonstrating orbital-class first-stage recovery, a capability previously shown by SpaceX, Rocket Lab, and Blue Origin using various recovery methods.
China's First Rocket Land Recovery Succeeds: LandSpace Passes Its 'Second Big Exam'
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