Ten years ago, Dai Zheng made a career-defining gamble: he left his secure, prestigious engineering post in China’s state space programme to join an unproven private start-up. On August 19, that risk paid off when a rocket booster returned from orbit and landed upright for the first time in Chinese commercial space history.
For Dai, now chief commander of the Zhuque-3 missions at LandSpace, the successful touchdown marked both a major personal milestone and a critical leap forward in China’s drive to develop reusable launch vehicles.
The landing followed an intense eight-month recovery effort after a crash during a failed attempt in December. More broadly, it vindicated Dai’s decade-long belief that reusability – recycling parts of a rocket so it can fly again – is essential to cutting launch costs and supporting Beijing’s ambitions for massive satellite constellations.
Dai, 42, joined LandSpace in 2016 at the invitation of founder Zhang Changwu. He stepped down from his senior post in rocket research and development at the state-owned China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT) to serve as deputy general manager at the then one-year-old start-up.
The move meant turning his back on a secure path at CALT, where he had worked since 2009 after earning a master’s degree in engineering mechanics from Tsinghua University. As one of the lead architects of the Long March 5, China’s first heavy-lift rocket, Dai had been on a fast-rising trajectory.
Leaving the state system was painful. Dai recalled crying the night before resigning as he laid his awards across his bed. “I entered the state aerospace sector straight after graduation and never thought I would leave,” Dai told state broadcaster CCTV in an interview late last year.
There was lots of uncertainty, he said, but “rationally I knew I needed to take that step”.
Dai was betting his career on reusable rockets becoming the future of space flight. While fuel accounts for only a small fraction of launch costs, the first-stage booster represents the bulk of the hardware investment. Recovering and reusing boosters allows operators to spread those costs across multiple missions, slashing prices and increasing launch frequency.
For China, which needs thousands of launches to deploy proposed low-Earth-orbit satellite constellations, reusability has evolved from an engineering experiment into a strategic necessity.
The transition into the commercial space sector quickly tested Dai’s resolve. LandSpace’s debut rocket, Zhuque-1, failed to reach orbit during its maiden launch in October 2018. The setback prompted a decisive pivot: instead of relying on third-party solid fuel, Dai’s team would build its own liquid-propulsion system.
That strategy produced the Zhuque-2, powered by the self-developed Tianque liquid oxygen-methane engines. In July 2023, Zhuque-2 made history as the world’s first methane-powered rocket to reach orbit, laying the groundwork for Chinese commercial liquid-propellant rockets.
Building on that foundation, Dai spearheaded the development of the larger Zhuque-3, incorporating bold design choices such as replacing traditional aluminium alloys with stainless steel for the rocket’s main body.
The approach mirrored SpaceX’s use of stainless steel for its Starship vehicle. Though heavier than aluminium, the material can better withstand re-entry heat, reducing the need for heavy thermal shielding and simplifying refurbishment between flights.
For China, closing the commercial space gap with the United States is an urgent priority. US operators, led by Elon Musk’s SpaceX, have already deployed thousands of internet satellites into orbit.
“We cannot let the next generation look up and see only American satellites,” Dai said in a CCTV interview aired on Monday. “If we fail to make this happen, future generations will look back and feel that our generation of space workers failed to shoulder our historical responsibility.”
Born to teacher parents in Yongan, Fujian province in 1984, Dai said his passion for rocketry began at a fourth-grade summer camp, where he built a cardboard model rocket that soared dozens of metres before releasing a parachute, according to a report by state-run Xinhua News.
However, while the Zhuque-3 booster recovery represents a landmark achievement, LandSpace now faces the challenge of turning a one-off breakthrough into routine, reliable reuse.
For Dai, the remaining hurdles are necessary steps in a longer process.
“Experiencing failure is how you gain experience,” he said. “If you never take that step, you can’t get closer to success. We choose to do things not because they are easy, but because they are correct.” -- SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
