China’s state-owned space company beats private sector to reusable rocket test

A state-owned developer has beaten its privately owned rivals to complete China’s most advanced reusable rocket test – a six minute display of precision and power that lit up the northwestern Gobi Desert on Sunday.

The Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology (SAST) said the 10km (6 miles) “hop test” – in which a rocket shoots up, moves sideways and lands – was a “milestone” in the development of reusable rockets in China.