Chinese private rocket maker LandSpace is accelerating its push into reusable launch technology as it seeks to challenge the dominance of Elon Musk’s SpaceX and reshape China’s traditionally state-led space sector, even after the company’s first attempt at recovering a reusable rocket ended in failure.
Earlier this month, Beijing-based LandSpace became the first Chinese company to test a reusable launch vehicle when it launched its Zhuque-3 rocket on a suborbital flight that was designed to demonstrate controlled descent and recovery of its first-stage booster. The test ultimately failed when the booster was unable to ignite its landing burn about 3 km above the ground and crashed, according to the company.
Despite the setback, the attempt marked a milestone for China’s fast-growing commercial space industry and highlighted how startups such as LandSpace are adopting development models pioneered by SpaceX — including rapid iteration, public testing and acceptance of failure — in contrast to the cautious approach long favoured by state-owned aerospace groups.
“SpaceX can push products to the edge and even into failure, quickly identifying limits and iterating,” Zhuque-3 chief designer Dai Zheng told state broadcaster CCTV after the flight. “That was one of the reasons I left a state-owned institute to join LandSpace.”
Dai joined the company in 2016 after leaving the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, the country’s main government rocket developer.
LandSpace has made no secret of its ambition to develop a low-cost, reusable launcher comparable to SpaceX’s Falcon 9, the workhorse rocket that has transformed the economics of satellite launches worldwide.
“Falcon 9 is a configuration that has been proven by engineering practice,” Zhuque-3 deputy chief designer Dong Kai said in a recent podcast interview. “After studying it, we recognise its rationality. This is learning, not imitation.”
“Calling Zhuque-3 a ‘Chinese Falcon 9’ is actually a very high compliment,” Dong added.
The Zhuque-3 rocket adopts several design features that echo SpaceX’s approach, including the use of stainless steel structures and methalox engines — which burn methane and liquid oxygen — aimed at reducing manufacturing costs and improving reusability.
Musk himself acknowledged LandSpace’s design choices in October, commenting on a video of Zhuque-3’s assembly posted on X.
“They have added aspects of Starship, such as use of stainless steel and methalox, to a Falcon 9 architecture, which would enable it to beat Falcon 9,” Musk wrote. “But Starship is in another league.”
China opened its space sector to private investment in 2014, breaking a decades-long state monopoly and giving rise to a wave of startups including LandSpace, iSpace and Galactic Energy. The shift was intended to inject innovation and reduce launch costs as Beijing plans to deploy vast satellite constellations — potentially numbering more than 10,000 spacecraft — for communications, navigation and Earth observation.
Reusable rockets are seen as critical to those plans.
But commercial firms still face major financial and regulatory hurdles. Unlike SpaceX, which has benefited from deep private funding and large NASA contracts, Chinese startups have limited access to long-term capital and cannot yet afford repeated high-cost failures.
“For us, we are not yet in a position to burn that much money on testing,” Dai said. “But I believe the country has recognised this and is allowing capital markets to support companies like ours.”
Chinese regulators have recently signalled support for leading space startups to seek listings, as Beijing looks to channel private capital into strategic sectors such as aerospace, semiconductors and artificial intelligence.
LandSpace is widely expected to pursue an initial public offering in the coming years, although the company has not formally announced any listing plans.
LandSpace’s openness — including allowing foreign media into its engine factory this month — reflects a broader cultural shift in China’s space sector, where failures were once tightly controlled and rarely disclosed.
State media recently reported on two failed booster recovery attempts by Chinese rockets, including one by a state-owned company, signalling greater tolerance for experimental setbacks.
“This is a major change,” said a Beijing-based aerospace analyst who asked not to be named. “Public failure is now part of learning, not something to hide.”
As LandSpace prepares for another Zhuque-3 test flight, the company is drawing comfort from SpaceX’s own early struggles. SpaceX achieved its first successful Falcon 9 booster landing only in 2015, after multiple failed attempts.
“The key is persistence,” Dai said. “Reusability is not a single breakthrough, but the result of continuous trial and improvement.”
For China’s emerging commercial space industry, LandSpace’s efforts represent more than a technical race with SpaceX — they signal a deeper transformation in how the country builds, funds and manages its path to orbit.
