LandSpace, a Chinese private rocket company, launched the Zhuque-3 reusable rocket from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center earlier this month, drawing from SpaceX’s Falcon 9 design. The rocket achieved orbital insertion but failed to recover its first-stage booster. 

The first-stage booster failed to activate its landing burn at approximately 3 kilometers above ground, resulting in a crash instead of the intended controlled landing. The rocket was constructed from stainless steel and utilizes methane and liquid oxygen as its fuel. 

Dai Zheng says SpaceX’s emphasis on reusability inspired Zhuque-3

Dai Zheng, Chief Designer for the LandSpace rocket company, told China Central Television (CCTV) that SpaceX pushes products to the edge and into failure to pinpoint problems and find solutions quickly. Zheng began working at LandSpace in 2016, having previously worked at the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, a state-owned institution. He noted SpaceX’s emphasis on reusability motivated him to develop a Chinese equivalent. 

Dong Kai, the Deputy Chief Designer at LanSpace, revealed in a podcast interview, Zhuque-3, that a Chinese Falcon 9 is in development. He stated that after studying the Falcon 9, the team recognized its rationality and described their variant as a learning process, not imitation. 

The Zhuque-3 assembly has additional aspects of Starships, such as stainless steel and methalox, which could enable it to surpass the Falcon 9. Zheng told CCTV that SpaceX’s financial muscle allows the firm to accept significant losses during testing phases. According to the Chief Designer, LandSpace is not yet capable of handling such scales of losses.  

Dai revealed during the interview that China has seen the need and is allowing more capital markets to support rocket companies in achieving commercial space flights. LandSpace has already completed the regulatory phase for a potential listing on the Shanghai STAR Market. Beijing has also eased the initial public offering (IPO) requirements for firms dealing in reusable rocket technology that achieve orbital launches. 

According to a recent Cryptopolitan report, China’s Shanghai Stock Exchange is allowing commercial rocket companies to raise capital from public investors, even in the product development stage. The firms will only be required to show that they can achieve at least one successful orbit launch.

SpaceX faces emerging competition in reusable rocket technology

Although LandSpace’s space ambition and China’s national security priorities were not helped, especially by the half-full achievement, the private rocket company revealed that Zhuque-3 is targeted for at least 20 reuses. The rocket’s planned payload capacity is 18 tonnes for low Earth orbit, enabling the deployment of multiple satellites. 

LandSpace’s development of a low-cost reusable launch vehicle aligns with Beijing’s plans to establish satellite constellations numbering in the thousands throughout the next decade. China opened the door for private investors into the sector in 2014, allowing for the formation of several startups such as LandSpace. 

China’s state-owned Long March 12A launched its payload to orbit on Tuesday successfully, but failed to recover its first-stage booster, marking the second failure this month. The half-full achievement underscored the technology gap between China’s aerospace sector and established giants such as SpaceX and Blue Origin in the U.S. The development of Long March 12A is the number one priority for China to deliver the Guowang and Qianfan megaconstellations, aiming to deliver up to 26,000 satellites together. 

SpaceX’s first successful booster landing occurred in 2015 for the Falcon ahead of two failed attempts that followed later. Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin landed its first successful booster for the New Glenn rocket last month, challenging Musk’s SpaceX. With SpaceX’s dominant position in the sector, being both indispensable and dominant, Blue Origin’s first success paves the way for competition in handling the majority of U.S. commercial launches and routine astronaut missions.

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