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China's space programme
Opinion
SCMP Editorial
Editorial
SCMP Editorial

As the space race heats up, China’s momentum is undeniable

LandSpace’s successful recovery of the first stage of its Zhuque-3 rocket is a milestone that underlines China’s aerospace ambitions

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In a global first, leading Chinese commercial rocket company LandSpace has recovered a stainless-steel booster after an orbital launch, marking a major step in the country’s efforts to develop lower-cost, reusable rockets. Photo: CCTV
SCMP Editorial
Editorials represent the views of the South China Morning Post on the issues of the day.
In windswept Minqin county, Gansu province, this week, a stainless-steel booster touched down, marking a reusable rocket breakthrough. LandSpace’s successful recovery of the first stage of its Zhuque-3 rocket is more than a mere engineering milestone for China; it signals the nation’s official entry into the competitive era of reusable space flight.
For years, the global space economy has been monopolised by American tech billionaire Elon Musk’s SpaceX. Now, Beijing is no longer content to observe from the sidelines. With two breakthroughs in just over a month – LandSpace’s land-based recovery and the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp (CASC) capturing a booster at sea – China has crossed the starting line in a race that is as much about economic viability as it is about national prestige.
The Chinese space engineering community now has something to cheer about, as the good news came on the heels of a Long March-7A rocket explosion shortly after take-off the week before, resulting in the loss of a communications satellite.

The setback marks a rare launch failure in China this year, following similar blow-ups of the state-owned Long March-3B and private company Galactic Energy’s Ceres-2 in January, and Beijing-based Space Pioneer’s Tianlong-3 failed attempt in April.

But China’s actual success rate is high, as it has conducted 56 launches this year, before the most recent failure, which would have been the 18th launch of a Long March-7A vehicle. These may mark an operational setback but not necessarily a systemic problem.

LandSpace intends to relaunch the recovered booster within six months as multiple Chinese aerospace firms seek initial public offerings (IPOs) to support satellite network development. The state-owned CASC recently tested a sea-based net system for recovering rocket stages without landing gear.

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