flown byLandSpaceChina

Zhuque Y1

Success
DEC 03202504:00:00 UTC

Zhuque-3 is a substantially larger successor to Zhuque-2: 65.9 m tall, powered by nine TQ-12A methalox engines on the first stage, and designed with a partially recoverable first stage - the first such configuration from a Chinese commercial launch provider.

The second stage successfully delivered a mass simulator to the target orbit. The first stage was lost during the landing attempt when abnormal combustion during the recovery burn caused the booster to impact the ground short of the designated landing zone. LandSpace reported the flight as successful in verifying the vehicle's thermal protection, aerodynamic layout, and attitude control through supersonic reentry.

launched fromJiuquan

aboardZhuque 3Y1intoLEO

Payload

Unnamed payload

Flight test