BEIJING (AP) 鈥� China has successfully recaptured the first stage of a rocket on land for the first time, state media reported Wednesday, as the country seeks to advance its .
Although this marks China鈥檚 first successful recovery on land, it is the second time the country has recovered a rocket stage, following a in July.
Chinese state news agency Xinhua said the reusable rocket, Zhuque-3, was launched Wednesday morning and that the rocket’s first stage was recovered afterward.
Elon Musk鈥檚 SpaceX and Jeff Bezos鈥� Blue Origin have been recovering rockets since 2015, helping drive down launch costs by reusing hardware that would otherwise be discarded after carrying satellites and other payloads toward space.
Xinhua said that Wednesday’s recovery also marked China’s first use of deployable landing legs and deemed the result 鈥渁 major breakthrough in the country鈥檚 reusable rocket technology.鈥�
On July 10, the first stage of a Long March-10B rocket separated from the second stage after liftoff and returned to a platform at sea. That time, it was recovered using a net-capture system.
The next day, on July 11, Japan conducted the of an experimental reusable rocket, which took off and safely landed.
Japan is also trying to catch up with the technology needed to cut launch costs and compete in the global space market.
Copyright © 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
