China Recovers Rocket Stage on Land for First Time

China has successfully recovered a rocket’s first stage on land for the first time, marking a major step in its efforts to develop reusable space technology and reduce launch costs.

The reusable Zhuque-3 rocket was launched Wednesday morning, and its first stage was successfully recovered after the flight, state-run Xinhua News Agency reported.

The achievement marks China’s second successful recovery of a rocket stage. In July, the country recovered the first stage of a Long March-10B rocket on a sea platform using a net-capture system.

Wednesday’s mission was also the first time China used deployable landing legs during a rocket recovery. Xinhua described the successful landing as a major breakthrough in reusable rocket technology.

Reusable rockets are designed to reduce the cost of space launches by allowing rocket hardware to be used multiple times rather than discarded after a single flight.

US companies SpaceX and Blue Origin have been recovering rocket stages since 2015, helping lower launch costs for satellites and other payloads.

China is seeking to expand its capabilities in reusable space technology as it competes in the global commercial space sector.

Japan is also developing reusable rocket technology. On July 11, it conducted the first test flight of an experimental reusable rocket, which successfully launched and landed.