Minqin County, Wuwei City, Gansu Province, northwest China - Aug 19, 2026 (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
1. First stage of Zhuque-3 Y2 rocket returning to ground
2. First stage of Zhuque-3 Y2 rocket successfully completing its return to ground

Dongfeng Commercial Space Innovation Pilot Zone, northwest China - Aug 19, 2026 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
3. Zhuque-3 Y2 rocket blasting off

Minqin County, Wuwei City, Gansu Province, northwest China - Aug 19, 2026 (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
4. First stage of Zhuque-3 Y2 rocket returning to the ground

Dongfeng Commercial Space Innovation Pilot Zone, northwest China - Aug 19, 2026 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
5. SOUNDBITE (Chinese dubbed in English) Liu Ziteng, director of System Engineering Department at LandSpace's Rocket R&D Division (starting with shots 3-4/ending with shot 6):
"This mission achieves a breakthrough in the first step toward making rockets 'recoverable, reusable and operational'. Recovery is the most important foundation for subsequent reuse and operation. At present, the Zhuque-3 rocket is designed to meet the technical requirements of reusing its first stage 20 times. In the operational phase, the goal is to bring spaceflight close to aviation to make rocket launches and landings more like airplane operations, with an optimal balance of frequency, reliability and safety."

Minqin County, Wuwei City, Gansu Province, northwest China - Aug 19, 2026 (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
6. Various of first stage of Zhuque-3 Y2 rocket returning to ground

Dongfeng Commercial Space Innovation Pilot Zone, northwest China - Aug 19, 2026 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
7. SOUNDBITE (Chinese dubbed in English) Liu Ziteng, director of System Engineering Department at LandSpace's Rocket R&D Division:
"We will serve both the domestic and international commercial satellite launch markets, meeting demand for missions such as satellite ride-shares and the deployment of specific commercial satellite constellations."

Minqin County, Wuwei City, Gansu Province, northwest China - Aug 19, 2026 (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
8. First stage of Zhuque-3 Y2 rocket standing at designated recovery site

The company behind China's reusable Zhuque-3 Y2 rocket says its goal is to make spaceflight as routine as aviation, with rocket launches and landings operating more like airplanes.

Liu Ziteng, director of the System Engineering Department at LandSpace's Rocket R&D Division, said the first stage of the Zhuque-3 is designed for 20 reuses, with the ultimate aim of achieving the optimal balance of frequency, reliability and safety.

"This mission achieves a breakthrough in the first step toward making rockets 'recoverable, reusable and operational'. Recovery is the most important foundation for subsequent reuse and operation. At present, the Zhuque-3 rocket is designed to meet the technical requirements of reusing its first stage 20 times. In the operational phase, the goal is to bring spaceflight close to aviation to make rocket launches and landings more like airplane operations, with an optimal balance of frequency, reliability and safety," Liu said.

His remarks came after a planned, land-based recovery of the rocket's first stage was successfully completed earlier Wednesday.

The rocket took off at 07:35 (Beijing Time) from the Dongfeng commercial space innovation pilot zone in northwest China, with its second stage sending the onboard Honghu-03 satellite into preset orbit. The flight mission was a complete success.

Less than 10 minutes after liftoff, the first stage touched down smoothly at the designated recovery site.

The mission marked China's first flight verification of land recovery for the first stage of a reusable launch vehicle, as well as the country's first successful verification of a landing using deployable landing legs.

Developed by LandSpace, the Zhuque-3 is a new-generation liquid oxygen-methane-powered rocket designed for low-cost, high-capacity and high-frequency launches. It features a stainless steel body and measures 66.1 meters in length, with a body diameter of 4.5 meters and a payload fairing of 5.2 meters in diameter.

"We will serve both the domestic and international commercial satellite launch markets, meeting demand for missions such as satellite ride-shares and the deployment of specific commercial satellite constellations," Liu said.

The successful mission followed the sea-based recovery of the Long March-10B's first stage on July 10.