Brief by Shorts91 Newsdesk / 02:54am on 20 Aug 2026,Thursday Science
China has successfully recovered a rocket’s first stage on land for the first time, marking a major advance in its reusable-spaceflight programme, state media reported. The Zhuque-3, developed by private aerospace company LandSpace, launched on Wednesday and its first stage was subsequently recovered. China had previously achieved a rocket-stage recovery at sea in July using a net-capture system. Wednesday’s mission was the country’s first land recovery using deployable landing legs. SpaceX and Blue Origin have been recovering rockets since 2015, helping reduce launch costs through reusable hardware. Japan also conducted its first experimental reusable-rocket flight in July. The developments highlight intensifying competition to lower launch costs and strengthen commercial space capabilities.
