China’s first reusable rocket, the Zhuque-3, launched for the first time on Wednesday and successfully reached orbit, but efforts to recover the first stage failed after it crashed near the planned recovery site.
The United States is still the only country in the world to successfully return an orbital-class booster, though China is still vying for the second spot with other upcoming launches.
The reusable rocket, designed by the Beijing-based commercial space company LandSpace, was launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in China’s northwest at noon on Wednesday.
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After reaching a low-Earth orbit, the first stage of the rocket – the lower section that lifts the vehicle off the ground – appeared to catch fire in the air before crashing near the target recovery site.
Chinese commercial and state-owned space developers have been racing to launch the country’s first reusable rocket, a technology that is currently dominated by the US.
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Reusable rocket technology was pioneered by SpaceX, which achieved the world’s first rocket landing after an orbital mission almost a decade ago with the Falcon 9.