On September 11, according to CCTV news, China’s independently developed ‘ZQ-3’ reusable vertical recovery test rocket completed a 10-kilometer vertical takeoff and landing return flight test today at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center.
The report states that this experiment marks a significant breakthrough in the reusable rocket technology of China’s commercial space industry, taking a critical step towards achieving high-capacity, low-cost, high-frequency, and reusable space launches in the future.
ZQ-3 is China’s first stainless steel launch vehicle, larger and with a stronger payload capacity compared to ZQ-2, developed by LandSpace.
LandSpace Technology Co., Ltd. (LandSpace) founder and CEO Zhang Changwu previously revealed that ZQ-3 will conduct full rocket orbital validation next year, with plans to quickly retrieve the first stage after the orbital validation, and achieve reusability of the rocket’s first stage by 2026.
Zhang Changwu stated that the ZQ-3 is a reusable launch vehicle, with an initial goal of achieving the ability for more than 20 reuses, and it is expected to be launched in the first half of next year. He also revealed that according to the plan, LandSpace will arrange 4 launch missions this year, and the launch plan for next year will double. Foreign Media
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