China launches Zhuque-3, achieving its first rocket recovery on land

The Zhuque-3 Y2 rocket blasts off at the Dongfeng commercial space innovation pilot zone in northwest China, Aug. 19, 2026. (Photo by Wang Jiangbo/Xinhua)

JIUQUAN, Aug. 19 (Xinhua) -- China launched the reusable rocket Zhuque-3 on Wednesday morning, achieving its first recovery of a rocket's first stage on land.

The Zhuque-3 Y2 rocket blasted off at 7:35 a.m. (Beijing Time) from the Dongfeng commercial space innovation pilot zone in northwest China.

The land-based recovery of the rocket's first stage was completed as planned, and the flight mission was a complete success.

This mission followed the successful sea-based net recovery of the Long March-10B's first stage on July 10.

It marked China's first successful land-based controlled recovery of a rocket's first stage using deployable landing legs, highlighting a major breakthrough in the country's reusable rocket technology.

The Zhuque-3 Y2 rocket blasts off at the Dongfeng commercial space innovation pilot zone in northwest China, Aug. 19, 2026. (Photo by Wang Jiangbo/Xinhua)

The Zhuque-3 Y2 rocket blasts off at the Dongfeng commercial space innovation pilot zone in northwest China, Aug. 19, 2026. (Photo by Wang Jiangbo/Xinhua)

The Zhuque-3 Y2 rocket blasts off at the Dongfeng commercial space innovation pilot zone in northwest China, Aug. 19, 2026. (Photo by Wang Jiangbo/Xinhua)