LandSpace’s Zhuque-3 reusable rocket test a ‘breakthrough’ for China space race

Beijing-based company LandSpace set the stage for next year’s maiden flight of its reusable Zhuque-3 rocket with a 10km (6-mile) vertical take-off, vertical landing (VTVL) test in China’s Gobi Desert on Wednesday.

The 200-second test flight was also the first time engine reignition – a critical deceleration phase in rocket recovery – was tested in China, in what state broadcaster CCTV called a “breakthrough” for the country’s commercial space sector.