China's Zhuque-3 Y1 rocket fails first-stage recovery in maiden flight
China’s reusable Zhuque-3 Y1 carrier rocket, developed by Beijing-based commercial aerospace company LandSpace, failed to complete its first-stage recovery during its maiden test flight on Wednesday. Despite this, the rocket’s second stage successfully reached the designated orbit, marking a partial success for the mission.
According to state-run Xinhua News, abnormal combustion occurred during the descent of the first stage, preventing it from achieving a soft landing on the designated pad. LandSpace confirmed that the anomaly is currently under investigation.
The rocket was launched from the Dongfeng Commercial Aerospace Innovation Test Zone around noon local time. Although the first-stage recovery was unsuccessful, engineers emphasized that the mission validated the overall flight process, launch procedures, system interfaces, and operational schemes of the ZQ-3 rocket.
To date, only a few companies, including SpaceX and Blue Origin in the United States, have successfully tested reusable rockets. LandSpace highlighted that the flight generated valuable engineering data under real conditions, providing a critical foundation for future launches and reliable reusable first-stage recovery.
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