LandSpace Zhuque-3 Debut Achieves Orbit But First Stage Recovery Fails

The private Chinese space enterprise LandSpace conducted the inaugural flight of its Zhuque-3 (ZQ 3) rocket, designated ZQ 3 Y1, on Wednesday, December 3, 2025, marking a significant attempt to integrate reusable booster architecture into China's orbital launch capabilities. The launch originated from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region at noon, representing the nation's first orbital mission predicated on booster reusability.

The ZQ 3 vehicle, constructed primarily from stainless steel, stands 66.1 meters tall with a 4.5-meter diameter and had a liftoff mass of approximately 570 metric tons fully fueled. This debut mission achieved a critical partial success: the second stage successfully inserted a mass simulator into its planned orbit. However, the primary objective of recovering the first-stage booster was not met, as the stage broke up near Minqin county in Gansu province, roughly 390 kilometers from the launch site.

LandSpace, headquartered in Beijing, attributed the recovery failure to an abnormal combustion event during the critical landing sequence, which prevented a controlled touchdown on the recovery pad. The ZQ 3 is engineered to support China's expanding internet satellite network plans, capable of deploying heavy satellites to Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and Sun-Synchronous Orbits (SSO) using a liftoff thrust exceeding 750 tons. Propulsion relies on the company's proprietary methane engines, utilizing a cluster of nine TQ-12A engines on the first stage and a single TQ-15A engine on the second stage.

The choice of liquid methane and oxygen propellant aligns LandSpace with the global trend toward more cost-effective rocketry, a technology previously demonstrated by the company with the ZQ 2 in July 2023, which was the world's first orbital launch using a methane-propelled rocket. The first stage was equipped with four landing legs and four grid fins for descent management. Despite the setback in recovery, the successful second-stage orbital insertion is being framed by the enterprise as a significant milestone for gathering technical data necessary to refine the rocket's design and achieve future reusability.

Founded in 2015, LandSpace is recognized as China's most advanced commercial rocket company, seeking to emulate the rapid iteration model of U.S. competitors. If the ZQ 3 ultimately achieves consistent recovery, LandSpace would become only the third private firm globally, following SpaceX and Blue Origin, to recover a large orbital rocket's main stage. The debut flight verified the overall testing, launch, and flight plan for the ZQ 3 model, demonstrating interface compatibility between various systems, and the company has committed to a comprehensive review to advance the technology in subsequent missions.