On December 3, 2025, LandSpace launched Zhuque-3 from Jiuquan, and the rocket’s second stage entered its planned orbit, but the first-stage recovery attempt failed after anomalous combustion during descent, according to Xinhua. That single flight changed the status of Chinese reusable orbital launch vehicles from mostly paper programs and test articles into a visible launch race. It also showed the difference between reaching orbit and proving r…
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