In China, a competitive race is unfolding among several companies striving to launch and land an orbital-class rocket, with the latest contender poised to make its move tonight.
LandSpace, a promising Chinese rocket startup, is on the verge of launching its medium-lift Zhuque-3 rocket for the first time. This launch is scheduled for approximately 11 pm EST (04:00 UTC Wednesday), which is midday at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China.
Airspace warnings advising pilots to avoid the rocket's path indicate that LandSpace has a roughly two-hour launch window. Upon liftoff, the Zhuque-3 (Vermillion Bird-3) rocket will set a record as the largest commercial launch vehicle flown in China. Moreover, LandSpace aims to be the first Chinese company to attempt a landing of its first stage booster, employing the same successful return techniques pioneered by SpaceX and more recently utilized by Blue Origin in the US.
A landing pad has been constructed in the vast stretches of the Gobi Desert, around 240 miles (390 kilometers) southeast of the Jiuquan launch site. Unlike US spaceports, the Jiuquan site is located far inland, with rockets traveling over land on their journey to orbit. After completing its task of boosting the rocket toward orbit, the Zhuque-3 booster will follow a curved descent path towards the recovery area, igniting its engines to decelerate for a landing approximately eight-and-a-half minutes after launch.
While the ambition is clear, LandSpace officials have not disclosed their confidence level regarding a successful launch or landing. For context, Blue Origin, a significantly larger enterprise supported by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, needed two tries to land its New Glenn booster on a sea-based platform after launching from Cape Canaveral, Florida. A decade earlier, SpaceX made its first successful rocket landing after numerous attempts and has now accomplished over 500 such landings.
LandSpace was founded in 2015, shortly after space policy reforms in China allowed private investment in satellite and launch endeavors. The company has since amassed over $400 million from venture capital and government-backed funds, indicating significant support and interest in its success.