China's Landspace Plans Second Rocket Landing Try This Spring

Chinese commercial space company Landspace is preparing for its second attempt to catch a falling rocket booster this spring, just months after narrowly missing the mark on its first try.

The company's Zhuque-3 rocket nearly stuck the landing in December 2025, executing a fiery descent through the atmosphere before crashing just 40 meters off target in the Gobi Desert. While the booster didn't survive, almost everything worked perfectly during the attempt, including high-altitude gliding, grid fin deployment, and the initial landing burn.

Now Landspace is targeting a second launch and recovery attempt between April and June 2026. If successful, they plan to relaunch that recovered booster later this year, becoming one of the first companies outside SpaceX to reuse an orbital rocket stage.

The December launch wasn't a total loss. The rocket's second stage successfully reached orbit and completed advanced tests, including a nearly 24-minute coast phase and engine restart, both crucial for complex satellite missions. The stage safely reentered Earth's atmosphere over the Southern Ocean in January.

The Ripple Effect

This technology could transform how China deploys its planned megaconstellations of internet satellites. The Zhuque-3 can carry up to 18,300 kilograms to low Earth orbit when recovering the first stage downrange, roughly 75 to 85 percent of SpaceX's Falcon 9 capacity.

That's a massive boost for a commercial space company. Reusable rockets dramatically lower launch costs by flying the same hardware multiple times instead of building new boosters for every mission.

Landspace isn't working alone in this space race. At least seven other Chinese commercial companies are developing their own reusable rockets with debut flights planned throughout 2026. Meanwhile, China's state-owned space agency attempted its first booster landing in December with the Long March 12A.

The company has already secured contracts to launch satellites for China's Guowang megaconstellation and recently applied for a $1 billion IPO. They've built an impressive infrastructure to support their ambitions, including engine manufacturing facilities, rocket assembly plants, and dedicated launch facilities at Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center.

The race to make spaceflight affordable and routine is heating up, and this spring could mark another major milestone in that journey.