China’s reusable rocket ambitions experience second setback in the same month

The Long March 12A, China’s first state-owned reusable rocket, made its debut launch on Tuesday morning but the recovery of the first stage was a failure.

It was China’s second failed bid this month to return an orbital-class booster, a feat that has so far only been achieved by the US.

The reusable rocket, designed by the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology under the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, was launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in China’s northwest.

China’s commercial and state-owned space developers have been racing to launch and recover the country’s first reusable rocket.

The US is to date the only country to return an orbital-class booster. Reusable rocket pioneer SpaceX was the first to achieve this almost a decade ago with the Falcon 9.

Last month, the Washington state-based Blue Origin’s New Glenn was the second rocket class to achieve this feat.

Reusable rocket technology will make it possible to have more frequent, lower-cost launches and could aid the building of major space projects, including China’s planned internet satellite constellations.

China’s Guowang and Qianfan megaconstellations, which are both planning to launch networks of up to 10,000 satellites, are expected to rival the Starlink constellation developed by SpaceX.

  

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