LandSpace's ZQ 3 Y1 launch marks push toward reusable rocket recovery

LandSpace, a leading private space company in China, conducted the debut flight of its ZQ 3, or Rosefinch 3, carrier rocket on Wednesday, though the attempt to recover the first-stage booster failed.

The ZQ 3 Y1, a gigantic craft made primarily by stainless steel, blasted off at noon from its dedicated launch service tower at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region.

The Y1 designation in the rocket's name signifies that the craft is the first in the ZQ 3 series. The mission represents China's first attempt to launch a reusable rocket into orbit.

After a short flight, the rocket's second-stage booster reached its preset orbital position while the first-stage booster re-entered the atmosphere and exploded into a fireball over a designated recovery site in Minqin county in Gansu province, which is about 390 kilometers away from the launch site.

This mission verified the overall plan for testing, launch and flight of the ZQ 3 model, while demonstrating the compatibility of interfaces between various systems. It successfully obtained critical technical data during the flight, laying a solid foundation for optimizing the rocket's designs, enhancing its overall reliability, and achieving recovery, according to the Beijing-headquartered enterprise.

Technical specs from LandSpace shows the ZQ 3 Y1 was 66.1 meters tall and 4.5 meters wide, and weighed nearly 570 metric tons when fully fueled.

With a liftoff thrust of over 750 tons, it was able to transport heavy satellites to low-Earth or sun-synchronous orbits.

The rocket was propelled by LandSpace's own methane engines - the first stage had nine TQ-12A engines, creating the major lift for the rocket, and the second stage had a TQ-15A engine.

Compared to traditional rocket engines that can function only once, a methane engine is reusable and more environmentally friendly.

The rocket's propellant tanks are constructed using stainless steel, which features good strength, resistance to scorching temperatures and corrosion, and are very cost-effective.

There were four grid fins and four landing legs on the space vessel that would have been used to enable the first-stage booster to make a soft landing.

LandSpace has invested heavily in the research and development of the ZQ 3, aiming to use the reusable model to compete for lucrative launch service contracts driven by China's grand plan of establishing a massive internet satellite network.

In July 2023, the company conducted the world's first orbital mission of a methane-propelled carrier rocket, launching a ZQ 2 at the Jiuquan center. To date, the ZQ 2 its modified variant have completed six launches.